Arnab Bose is moving Asana from AI assistant to AI teammate

In March, the cloud-based work management platform Asana rolled out AI Teammates, virtual agents that can draft campaign briefs, map out project timelines, and sort or assign incoming work without waiting for human input. The agents plug directly into Asana’s workflows, communicating through the same task threads and discussions as human teammates, while producing outputs in software platforms companies already use, updating task status, and reporting on progress alongside human collaborators. Arnab Bose, the chief product officer, helped lead the launch, working with the company’s R&D team and early potential Teammates customers. Their feedback indicated they wanted something more akin to a virtual coworker that could get things done, not just an AI assistant for brainstorming and rephrasing ideas. Bose joined Asana in September 2025 after serving as chief product officer at Okta, a provider of identity access management. He previously studied operations research and industrial engineering at Cornell University, where he learned to model complex processes and “make sense of the chaos and get to clarity,” an approach he says remains central to product management. He says he was drawn to Asana’s focus on helping humans and AI agents coordinate so businesses could move faster. Early customers consistently pushed for tools that could show their work. As a result, the company developed a form of activity reporting that lets users see detailed updates on what AI teammates are doing if they wish, while allowing others to simply get notifications when tasks are done. Bose also uses the tools himself to test strategy and product ideas. “It usually catches things that I might have missed,” he says. “As a person, it’s hard to keep all of these ideas in your head at all times.” This profile is part of Fast Company’s AI 20 for 2026, our roundup spotlighting 20 of AI’s most influential technologists, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and creative thinkers. The extended deadline for Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech Awards is Thursday, June 18, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.