About
Arun Batchu
I'm a multipotentialite — my curiosity doesn't stay in one lane. I write here in a personal capacity about the things that pull at me: books, brains and minds, animal and plant intelligence, wisdom and how it accumulates, autonomous AI agents, and how the shape of work is changing. If there's a thread, it's intelligence in all its forms — biological, botanical, mechanical, and hard-won human judgment.
I built my first neural network as a student in 1992 and have spent the three decades since building, leading, and advising on technology. Most recently I was a VP Analyst in Gartner's software engineering practice, helping engineering leaders around the world navigate AI, development practices, and organizational change. Before that I was VP of Advanced Technologies at UnitedHealth Group, where I established R&D centers that incubated applied-AI innovations, and Director of Technology at Best Buy, driving digital product management and technology strategy.
Today I wear a few hats, all of them by choice. I'm the founder and principal advisor of netrii, where a network of senior practitioners helps businesses make real AI decisions. I'm a co-founder and director of Stone Arch Collective, a practitioner-owned AI cooperative in the Twin Cities. And I'm a co-founder of The Thinking Spot, a science-focused independent bookstore in Wayzata, Minnesota. That's not an honorary title: a real share of my time and attention goes into the store's operations, marketing, value proposition, and go-to-market strategy — the unglamorous work of making an independent bookstore thrive. It's also where the book notes on this site were first published.
The work
The work I do now, in a sentence: I help leaders make AI decisions they can stand behind. In practice that ranges widely. I teach applied AI to engineering and product leaders inside medical-device and healthcare companies through the University of Minnesota's Technological Leadership Institute — agentic AI, trustworthy AI, AI in healthcare and medtech — courses built for people who have to ship regulated products, not just talk about models. I upskill entire workforces in everyday applied AI — hands-on with the tools people already have, like Microsoft Copilot and Anthropic's Claude, so the gains show up in Monday's work, not in a strategy deck. I work directly with the chief executive and chief of operations of a specialist technical-training firm — upskilling them personally in AI, shaping the firm's AI strategy, and modernizing their course content through an AI pipeline that ends with voice tutors embedded in the delivery itself, so learners can talk with the material, not just read it. Within Stone Arch Collective, I mentor cohorts through six-week immersive learning journeys — people arrive curious and leave fully equipped to apply AI to their own work. And through netrii, I advise businesses on AI strategy and operating advantage. And I build in production, not just in slides: at shilpiworks.com, a fleet of autonomous agents creates, quality-checks, and publishes real products every day.
“I love your teaching style — you make AI so understandable for me and others who are not into the field.”
I don't name client engagements here. But if your organization is facing decisions like these — where to trust AI, how to govern agents, how to reskill a technical workforce — I'd like to hear from you: arun@netrii.com.
Service
Service is a through-line, not a side note. A significant part of every week goes to the Shreya R. Dixit Memorial Foundation, where I serve as Executive Director. The foundation works to end distracted driving — organizing, advocating, and putting technology to work so that fewer families lose someone the way the Dixit family lost Shreya. As AI guide to the Dabhoi Community Foundation, I work with its chief executive and board on applying AI to improve outcomes for the students and learners the foundation serves. I also serve on the board of the India Association of Minnesota, working on the organization's strategic growth and corporate partnerships — and helping fellow board members and officers upskill in AI along the way, which has become one of the quiet joys of the role. Closer to home, I run AI and engineering workshops for young people at The Thinking Spot, serve as an industry advisor to Minnesota State University Mankato's MS in Artificial Intelligence program, and show up for the Twin Cities AI community — grading student research, sitting on panels, and paying forward what others gave me.
“Thanks to Arun for showing me how to use AI to make better pitches for grants and donations.”
Kind words
“Back by popular demand… capable of bringing all of it together and making sense for the CEOs.”
“You're always so generous with your time… I can see going to you for almost everything. To me, you're the chief operating officer in my mind.”
“I will echo the compliment… about your strategic vision, because it really is exceptional.”
“Thanks to Arun for guiding me to use Codex instead of ChatGPT when I was stuck. I was able to solve my problem and I am set for the future!”
For advisory work on AI strategy and operating advantage, see netrii.com. For everything else, this is the place.
Reach me at arun@netrii.com.