Pune, May 9, 2026, 00:34 IST
KPIT Technologies founder and chairman S.B. (Ravi) Pandit died in Pune on Friday morning, the Pune-based automotive software company told the BSE and NSE in a regulatory filing signed by Chief Financial Officer Priyamvada Hardikar. The company said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of the leader who built KPIT into one of India’s best-known mobility software firms. NSE Archives
The timing matters. KPIT is trying to steady investor confidence after a weak profit print but stronger deal wins, reporting Q4FY26 revenue of about $185 million, rupee revenue growth of 12.0% from a year earlier and $349 million of new engagements, including two large strategic wins.
Indian markets were closed at the dateline. KPIT shares ended Friday 0.9% higher at ₹729.15 on the NSE, after falling the previous day when investors reacted to the company’s 33% year-on-year drop in March-quarter profit.
Pandit founded KPIT in 1990 and helped move it from a Pune IT services and consulting firm into a specialist in automotive and mobility software engineering. KPIT says it now operates in 15 countries and its software powers more than 20 million vehicles across the United States, Europe and Asia.
The company sits in the software-defined vehicle market, shorthand for cars and machines where software controls more of the product’s features, upgrades and performance. In India’s engineering R&D sector, KPIT is watched alongside Tata Elxsi, L&T Technology Services and Cyient; Choice Institutional Equities recently said demand was still subdued but preferred KPIT for its software-defined vehicle positioning.
The exchange filing did not disclose a cause of death or name an immediate successor as chairman. Moneycontrol also reported that the reason for his death was not known.
Tributes came in from business and civic leaders. Industrialist Mohandas Pai called Pandit a “great Indian and business leader,” while MCCIA director-general Prashant Girbane described him as a “pioneering technology entrepreneur” and “institution builder” who helped shape Pune’s industrial and technology identity. The Financial Express
Two days before the death announcement, KPIT CEO and managing director Kishor Patil said trade and geopolitical uncertainty had hurt mobility investment last year, but added that “AI is now core to Automotive Engineering.” President and joint managing director Sachin Tikekar said automakers were under pressure to launch new products and features quickly while also cutting costs. KPIT
But the near term is not clean. JM Financial summed up the stock as “Near-term softness, medium-term outlook intact” and said two large software-defined vehicle programmes ending in H1FY27 could make the first half weaker; PL Capital said FY26 ended on a “subdued note” because of delays in automaker spending, middleware weakness and some AI-led cannibalisation. Business Today
Motilal Oswal took a more constructive view, keeping a buy rating and a revised target price of ₹970. The brokerage said KPIT remained one of the better-positioned automotive software ER&D plays, even as adjusted profit after tax in Q4FY26 missed its estimate.
Pandit’s influence extended beyond KPIT. The company profile lists him as chairman of Kirtane & Pandit Chartered Accountants, co-founder or guide to institutions including Pune International Centre and Janwani, and the only private-sector member of the Empowered Group for India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission.
