Shark Tank's Anupam Mittal warns AI will hit middle managers before coders

Shark Tank India judge and People Group founder Anupam Mittal has cautioned Indian companies that artificial intelligence is likely to disrupt white-collar roles in unexpected ways, with middle management facing greater risk than software coders.

In a LinkedIn post, Mittal argued that AI agents are rapidly taking over tasks traditionally handled by managerial layers, particularly roles focused on coordination rather than execution. Contrary to popular fears that programmers will be the first to be displaced, he said AI is instead targeting positions built around overseeing processes and people.

‘Knowledge premium has dropped to zero’

Mittal said that in earlier corporate structures, seniority was rewarded because leaders understood workflows and knew how to get things done across teams. However, with AI tools now capable of organising, tracking and executing complex operations, that advantage is disappearing.

According to Mittal, companies he has backed are generating between Rs 300 crore and Rs 1,000 crore in annual revenue with teams of about 50 employees, supported largely by AI-driven systems. In such environments, he warned, roles like “VP of Operations” that do not directly contribute measurable outcomes are increasingly difficult to justify.

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Rise of the ‘Individual Contributor Plus’

Mittal said the future belongs to professionals who can build, code, sell or create, while using generative AI to perform the work of entire departments. Jobs centred purely on coordination, without adding tangible value, are increasingly viewed as overhead, and therefore vulnerable in a high interest-rate environment where cost efficiency is critical.

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Big Tech is already flattening hierarchies

Mittal’s comments come as global technology companies move in a similar direction. Amazon and Google have both reduced layers of middle management while continuing to hire for specialised and execution-focused roles.

Last year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company was shifting more decision-making power to employees doing core work, arguing that excessive managerial layers slowed execution. Google, meanwhile, flattened its management structure in its US advertising sales division, eliminating an entire layer of “managers of managers” across several teams, according to internal communications reported earlier.