Konverz AI: How Lokesh Nigam is Using Psycholinguistics and AI to Automate the High-Stakes Job Interview

In the high-stakes arena of global talent acquisition, the most expensive mistake a company can make isn't a bad investment—it's a bad hire. For decades, the "handshake" has been the gold standard of fitment, but as companies scale to thousands of applicants, that handshake has become a logistical nightmare. Recruiter fatigue, unconscious bias, and the "fuzziness" of human judgment often result in high-potential candidates being filtered out by a tired algorithm or a distracted interviewer. The industry has reached an inflection point where traditional sourcing and screening are no longer enough.

Enter Lokesh Nigam, the co-founder and CEO of Konverz AI (and co-founder of Kognoz Consulting). A behavioral scientist by training and a former cadet in the Indian Navy, Lokesh’s journey is defined by the art of the "rebuild." After a career-ending injury in the Navy led him to pivot into engineering and HR, he spent over two decades at giants like KPMG, PwC, and Aon Hewitt. Today, he is leveraging Psycholinguistics—the science of how language reveals psychological traits—to build an AI interviewer that doesn't just scan resumes, but decodes the soul of the candidate. By analyzing 90 sub-parameters across 5 dimensions, Konverz AI is ensuring that for the first time, the "first round" of an interview is as scientific as the final selection.

The Genesis: A Career Built on the "Rebuild"

Lokesh Nigam’s path to becoming a tech visionary was anything but linear. Born and raised in Bhopal, he initially chose the path of service, joining the Indian Naval Academy. But life had other plans. A severe injury during his time in the Navy forced a total reset. "Right from the word go in my life, there has been a lot of rebuild," Lokesh reflects. "I had to go back, finish my engineering in Bhopal, and then move to Pune for an MBA in HR from Symbiosis."

This early lesson in resilience became the bedrock of his consulting career. Over the next 20 years, he worked across the Gulf, Southeast Asia, and North America, helping Fortune 200 companies design career marketplaces and learning ecosystems. It was during this time that he noticed the "fuzzy" gap in HR: while systems like ERPs handle workflows, they fail to solve the core problem of human understanding at scale.

The Problem: The Recruiter’s Attention Trap

Lokesh identifies a fundamental flaw in modern recruitment: the conflation of three distinct skills. "A recruiter is expected to do sourcing (finding profiles), screening (filtering), and interviewing (evaluating)," he explains. "These are distinct pieces of work. Sourcing is about marketplace and vendor management; interviewing is about deep behavioral observation. When one person does all three for 300 candidates, the quality of judgment inevitably drops."

Most existing HR bots are merely workflow tools—they synchronize calendars or send automated emails. They don't *solve* the problem of evaluation. This is where Konverz AI steps in. Instead of a manual screen, the AI conducts a full conversational interview, acting as a "Knowledge Product" rather than a simple automation tool.

The Technology: 90 Parameters of the Human Mind

At the back end of Konverz AI are two proprietary engines. The first is the Psycholinguistic Analysis engine, which breaks down conversational data into five principal dimensions: Personality, Sociability, Emotionality, Drive, and Cognition. Within these are 90 sub-dimensions that form the "raw data" of the candidate's psyche.

The second is the Job Fit Engine. "Every company has a different DNA," Lokesh notes. "You can't ask the same questions to a level-one developer and a VP of Sales. Our engine maps the job descriptions and nature of work to the required profile. In our upcoming version, we are adding generative AI for technical skill analysis—moving away from 'coding tests' to technical 'conversations' that judge the projected ability of the person."

Impact: 5 Customers in 6 Months

While many in HR are skeptical of AI replacing the "human touch," Lokesh has found the opposite to be true. In the first six months of launch, Konverz AI has onboarded five major customers. "I've met 60 senior HR heads, and with the exception of one or two, no one has said they don't want this," he says. "The ROI is clear: it eliminates the fuzziness and allows the recruiter to focus on what they do best—candidate experience and attraction."

Looking ahead, Lokesh doesn't see Konverz as just a hiring tool. He envisions it as a Conversational Platform for the entire employee lifecycle—from learning and performance to sales and service productivity.

Lokesh’s Advice: The 7-Year Plunge

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Lokesh’s journey offers a lesson in preparation. He thought about starting a venture eight times, with each idea existing as a folder on his computer, before finally taking the plunge in 2014. "I explored everything from sports academies to retail before settling on consulting," he admits. "But in my late 30s, I realized it was now or never. The confidence of having done great work for great clients is what gave me the strength to step out."

Conclusion: The Future of Skill-Based Fitting

Lokesh Nigam’s transition from the deck of a Navy ship to the cutting edge of AI-driven HR is a testament to the power of constant evolution. By merging the rigid discipline of engineering with the nuanced science of behavior, he has built a bridge that connects talent to opportunity more accurately than ever before. As the "Anywhere Economy" continues to globalize skills, platforms like Konverz AI will be the foundational layer that ensures the right person always finds the right role. In the world of Lokesh Nigam, the future of work isn't just about what you can do—it's about who you are, expressed through the very language you speak.