Dentsu has announced the official launch of Dentsu Lab India, marking a major milestone in the global expansion of its innovation ecosystem. With the Mumbai launch, India joins an elite list of global hubs including Tokyo, London, and Warsaw, as part of Dentsu’s mission to redefine the future of innovation with a human-first approach.
Founded in 2014 by Yasuharu Sasaki, Dentsu’s Global Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Lab has earned a reputation for combining creativity, empathy, and emerging technologies to solve real-world challenges and push the boundaries of experience design.
With India now part of this vision, Dentsu Lab aims to empower brands across the region to shape the future of their industries with greater speed, purpose, and precision—aligned with Dentsu’s global brand proposition, ‘Innovate to Impact’.
The India chapter will be led by Gurbaksh Singh, Chief Creative Officer & Chief Innovation Officer – South Asia, dentsu. He will spearhead the innovation agenda across sectors by collaborating closely with startups, clients, and strategic partners to build impactful solutions.
To celebrate the launch, Dentsu Lab India unveiled a series of global and locally developed innovations. From Japan, the Lab showcased:
Tokonoma – an AI-powered installation that converts handcrafted Japanese ceramics into generative soundscapes in real-time.
Unlabeled – a fashion-tech experiment using AI-defiant camouflage to raise questions around machine surveillance and bias.
From India, the Lab introduced:
Garuda Rakshak – a drone-powered public safety system.
Motorola Deep Connect – a solution addressing connectivity challenges in remote regions with emotionally intelligent tech design.
Unfiltered History Tour – an award-winning AR experience that challenges colonial narratives through immersive museum storytelling.
Yasuharu Sasaki, global chief creative officer, dentsu said,
“Innovation, at its best, is not driven by speed or scale alone, but by purpose. In a world where technology is accelerating rapidly, we must not forget that true progress begins with understanding people. We believe every idea must begin with empathy because when we place human needs at the centre, we create solutions that are not only intelligent, but deeply meaningful. India holds a special strength – a harmony of emotional insight, cultural richness, and technical excellence. With Dentsu Lab in India, we are bringing this strength into our global network. Together, we will create innovation that is grounded in humanity and designed to serve both business and society with lasting impact.”
Dentsu Lab will serve as a cutting-edge research and development platform connecting technologies and real-world contexts across industries. Its offerings span immersive events, sports, gaming, installations, retail innovation, data visualisation, AI, IoT, product development, mobile, AR/VR/MR, and rapid prototyping.
Amit Wadhwa, chief executive officer, Dentsu creative & media brands, South Asia, dentsu and Narayan Devanathan, president & chief strategy officer, dentsu South Asia jointly commented,
“Throughout history, India has stood at the crossroads of imagination and invention. From ancient knowledge systems to modern engineering marvels, India brings something truly special to the Lab – the ability to blend logic with intuition, tech with touch, data with empathy. Our culture teaches us to see the world not just as it is, but as it could be. With brilliant engineers, thoughtful designers, academics, and storytellers around us, we believe Dentsu Lab in India will be a crucible of possibility; a world where ideas come to life with purpose and humility.
“It is our promise to our clients and partners that here in India, innovation will not only be efficient, but empathetic. Not only intelligent, but inclusive. And through the Lab, we will build solutions that uplift industries, inspire people, and improve the world around us,” they reiterated.
Gurbaksh Singh added,
“We are not here to theorise about innovation. We are here to build it – fast, bold, and with intent. At Dentsu Lab in India, every challenge is a live brief, and every prototype a shot at solving something real. We draw from India’s first-mover mindset and a strong foundation in creative R&D to engineer ideas rooted in human connection and cultural relevance. From drones for public safety to emotional tech that bridges remote gaps, to wearables that push back against machine bias – everything we create exists to make a measurable difference. This Lab gives our ideas the tools, the talent, and the freedom to grow. We keep it simple, but we don’t think small. Our strength lies in blending creative ingenuity with emerging technology to deliver outcomes that create meaningful change, not eventually, but now.”
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