In 1997, working out of a modest 19-square-meter office in Schenectady, New York, Ajit Prabhu, may not have realized it, but he was about to change the engineering services industry. With great aspirations and drive, he and his co-founder set out to build something that would have a lasting impact and grow beyond contracts or transactions; a new way of working with clients to deliver engineering services that would outlive market cycles and outgrow conventional boundaries. That seed is now Quest Global, the largest private engineering, research, and development service provider in the world.
Back then, limitations of formulaic career paths, hyper-specialization in roles, and rigid hierarchies were prevalent in large corporations. What was on the horizon was a revolution for the engineering services culture, a professional environment that would empower engineers to move outside their finite job descriptions and become thinkers, collaborators, and changemakers.
Ajit secured the company’s first purchase order from GE, a client that remains with Quest Global today. This initial relationship was a testament to the new way of working. “It was a humble beginning,” Ajit reflects, “yet every problem we helped solve for our clients led to new challenges, new opportunities, and new growth.”
Leading with the founding principles of aspiration, hunger, and humility, 28 years later, Quest Global is firing on all cylinders, making bold moves. In a world where engineering service providers are often gauged by billable hours or headcount, this enterprise value is built on the trust it earns, the partnerships it grows, and the difference it makes for its clients and the world.
A Remarkable Evolution
Today, Quest Global has surpassed $1B revenue and with over 21,000 employees across 17 countries, Quest Global is delivering critical solutions to Fortune 500 clients worldwide. In Ajit’s words, “Engineering, has the greatest opportunity to work on the world’s hardest problems; it’s about solving for today, so we are able to architect a better tomorrow.”
Rooted in delivering value to clients and bettering humanity, this philosophy continues to inspire Quest Global’s identity and operations, earning many awards and was awarded One of the Best Places to Work by the Economic Times Now.
The Embedded Value System
Raised in Hubli, Karnataka, India, Ajit grew up believing his mother’s words, “If you pursue knowledge, value will follow.” The family values rooted in education continue to influence the company’s vision, identity, culture, and operations. From day one, it has always been purpose over process and people over hierarchy. For Ajit, his formative values continue to fuel his curiosity, determination, and the pursuit of excellence as the Co-Founder & CEO of the company.
Inside Core: Engineering as a Generational Craft
With an unwavering focus on engineering, Quest Global operates as a trusted partner to some of the world’s most influential brands across seven industries, including automotive, aerospace and defense, medtech and healthcare, energy, rail, hi-tech, and semiconductors.
At the heart of Quest Global’s procedure is a conviction that true engineering transformation comes from partnership. Rather than offering transactional support, the company embeds engineering teams inside client ecosystems through what it calls Virtual Business Units (VBUs), dedicated teams empowered to make decisions at speed, collaborate across time zones, and co-create custom solutions at the source of the client need.
Whether designing AI-driven autonomous systems, optimizing next-gen wind turbines, or building predictive maintenance models for rail networks, Quest Global delivers full lifecycle engineering solutions.
A Culture-Driven Company
Quest Global thrives on a culture built around three core principles: aspiration, hunger, and humility. These principles shape how they collaborate with clients and interact as a team. Employees are empowered to push boundaries, challenge the status quo, and pursue ideas, all with the aim of driving continuous innovation and delivering exceptional value to clients.
As Ajit says, “Engineering without inquisitiveness is simply execution—but when curiosity leads, innovation follows.” At Quest Global, curiosity is at the heart of its work and everyone is encouraged to challenge assumptions, explore bold ideas, and emphasize that asking “why not?” is just as important as asking “how?”
This culture of curiosity is paired with an understanding that bold thinking doesn’t always lead to instant success. Quest Global embraces a mindset of continuous learning, where even “successful failures” are celebrated. Teams openly share lessons from experiments that didn’t go as planned, recognizing the insights gained along the way. By fostering this openness, Quest Global has created an environment where new ideas can take root and flourish, paving the way for meaningful innovation.
Client-Centric by Design
Quest Global’s business model is unique. Rather than scale indiscriminately, it deliberately concentrates on selective partnerships where engineering talent and client intent align. VBUs work directly with clients to design solutions tailored to their business needs. It allows deeper collaboration, stronger accountability, innovation, and solutions that are tuned to practical outcomes. Innovation is a disciplined practice that starts with a human-centered approach and develops through structured teamwork.
Quest Global’s investment strategy mirrors this philosophy. The company often co-invests with clients to co-create which demonstrates a long-standing commitment to value creation, with the goal of not just delivering a project but collaboratively developing and refining the right solution. “We don’t deliver cookie-cutter solutions,” Ajit remarks, “We take the time to learn and understand our customers’ needs and challenges, putting their needs above all else.”
Ajit refers to one of the company’s differentiators as a “Say-Do” culture. Here, the measure of integrity is not found in a formal process, but in the unwavering consistency of its actions over time. This dedication to delivering on every promise is a key reason why many of Quest Global’s client relationships have flourished for decades. Almost one-third of the company’s clients have been with it for over 10 years and 80% of Quest Global projects are from existing client relationships.
Where Innovation Becomes Impact
At Quest Global, innovation is a relentless pursuit fueled by curiosity and transformation. Ajit defines it as asking the what-ifs and why-nots, uncovering value in unexpected places, and promoting progress across every business facet. This notion extends to shape how the company thinks, operates, engages, and collaborates with clients.
Innovations are pressure-tested where it matters most, on manufacturing floors, in hospital rooms, control cabins, and turbine fields. Its sector-specific engineering plays a vital part in solving for market demands, speed, precision, and reliability. For example, in the automotive sector, Quest Global is helping to shape autonomous driving systems through advanced data fusion architectures that fuse input from LIDAR, cameras, and sensors. These platforms power faster detection, adaptive safety functions, and validation protocols for next-gen vehicles, demonstrating how inquisitiveness and proactive partnership translate into practical impact. In the growing semiconductor space, Quest Global delivers end-to-end turnkey silicon engineering, custom SoC and ASIC solutions, with 360-degree functional verification before fabrication, accelerating chip development from concept to production.
“The world’s most challenging problems demand nothing less than our best thinking and most ambitious ideas.” says Ajit. This mindset drives Quest Global’s commitment to turning engineering challenges into industry-defining innovation.
The Role of AI in Engineering Services
Every engagement starts with a clear understanding of the client’s business goals and market understanding. From there, digital technologies are applied to solve engineering challenges.
Artificial intelligence is applied to ease the burden of routine and predictable work, where engineers themselves can be assigned to higher-value projects that require human creativity and thoughtfulness. In sectors like healthcare, rail, and automotive, Quest Global has developed AI models that enhance diagnostics, automate decisions, and detect failures before they occur. Each model is purpose-built, aligned with specific workflows, and deployed where it improves efficiency or adds clarity.
Data analytics is another core enabler. In partnership with the Andretti Formula E team, Quest Global is analyzing driver and car behavior to support real-time decisions and bring long-term team improvements. This work brings together data science and applied engineering to improve driver and race performance in a high pressure environment.
To support distributed delivery, Quest Global has developed a cloud-based Engineering Management System (EMS). It standardizes processes across global centers, facilitates seamless knowledge-sharing and collaboration in real time, and leverages AI to flag potential risks early, enhancing performance. This system serves as the operational backbone for remote yet hyperconnected multi-location workflows.
A Company with a Community Conscience
“At Quest Global, giving back to the communities we serve is part of who we are,” Ajit, says.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices are embedded in the company practices.
- Community-Focused CSR Programs
The company’s community investments focus on three key pillars: Quality Education, Gender Equality, and Climate Action. In India, Quest Global has adopted six junior technical schools where it provides infrastructure support, mentorship programs, and scholarships. These efforts have helped more than 2,000 students transition to higher education, with a marked 17% increase in new student enrollments. Quest Global’s Women in Engineering program has funded 750+ scholarships, including mentorship and career training.
- Reforestation: Restoring Nature, Empowering Communities
Partnering with One Tree Planted and SankalpTaru, Quest Global has planted 500,000 native trees in vulnerable zones. These are projected to absorb 113,000 tons of CO₂ over 20 years, while restoring habitats, improving biodiversity, and creating local jobs.
- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Power at Offices
The company’s Bangalore campus now runs on nearly 100% renewable electricity, with Derby and Munich fully powered by renewables.
- Empowering People and Communities
Quest Global’s strength lies in its people. The company’s approach to sustainability is intensely ingrained in the idea that engineering can uplift lives. Internally, it has created a workplace that values inclusion, transparency, and ethical behavior.
Looking Ahead: Building a Centenary Company
Ajit’s long-term vision for Quest Global is clear: “My dream is for Quest Global to become a centenary company that stands at the forefront of innovation for generations to come.” The company’s focus is on scaling innovation platforms, amplifying client ecosystems, and embedding sustainability into every layer of operations is the foundation to build a company that will last. Strategic investments in emerging technologies, leadership development, and global Centers of Excellence will support this evolution. Ajit concludes, “building a company to thrive beyond my lifetime that will generate jobs, support careers, and give back to people and companies that have been so good to me over the years, is the greatest gift I can leave to the next generation.”
By integrating human creativity and expertise with curiosity and disciplined execution, ambition and humility, Quest Global is building not for headlines, but for legacy guided by a mission to solve the world’s hardest engineering problems and improve how the world lives, moves, and connects.
