Three South Asian ‘Desis’ Named to TIME100 Creators 2026 List, Celebrating Global Digital Influence: Three South Asian-origin creators have earned a place on the prestigious TIME100 Creators 2026 list, which recognizes the world’s 100 most influential digital voices, podcasters, educators, streamers, and content creators shaping today’s media, culture, and online conversations.
Representing the South Asian diaspora across technology, business, and food content, Dwarkesh Patel, Shama Hyder, and Ash Baber have been recognized for building global audiences through insightful storytelling, educational content, and creative innovation. Their inclusion highlights the growing influence of South Asian creators in defining the future of digital media and the creator economy.
Dwarkesh Patel
At just 25, Dwarkesh Patel has emerged as one of the most respected voices covering artificial intelligence. Based in San Francisco, Patel hosts the widely acclaimed Dwarkesh Podcast, which attracts an average of more than 1.8 million listeners per episode. His long-form conversations with leading AI researchers, entrepreneurs, and technology executives—including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AI pioneer Andrej Karpathy—have become essential listening for engineers, policymakers, investors, and technology enthusiasts worldwide.
Known for his rigorous preparation and willingness to explore highly technical topics, Patel has established himself as a thoughtful chronicler of the AI revolution. His evolving views on artificial intelligence—describing himself as “moderately bearish in the short term and explosively bullish in the long term”—reflect his commitment to evidence-based analysis while documenting one of the most transformative technological shifts of the century.
Shama Hyder
Joining Patel on the prestigious list is Shama Hyder, a globally recognized digital marketing strategist, entrepreneur, and author who has spent more than 15 years helping businesses adapt to the rapidly changing digital landscape. After earning a master’s degree focused on social media and emerging platforms, Hyder founded Zen Media in 2009, transforming the company from a startup into an internationally respected B2B marketing and public relations agency.
A bestselling author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing and Momentum: How to Propel Your Marketing and Transform Your Brand in the Digital Age, Hyder has become one of the most influential marketing educators online. Through LinkedIn, where she has built an audience of more than 673,000 followers, and her Substack newsletter, The Hyder Ground, she now focuses on helping professionals and organizations navigate the opportunities and challenges created by artificial intelligence and the next generation of digital marketing.
Ash Baber
The third South Asian creator honored is British baking sensation Ash Baber, whose entertaining dessert videos have captivated millions of followers across TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. Recently named Content Creator of the Year at the 2026 Fortnum & Mason Food & Drink Awards, the 25-year-old has built a distinctive brand by combining delicious recipes with humor, personality, and South Asian culinary inspiration.
From mango mousse bars to strawberry ice-cream cakes and traditional South Asian-inspired desserts, Baber’s content blends accessible baking with fast-paced, comedic storytelling that makes cooking approachable for audiences of all ages. His energetic style has helped redefine food content for a younger generation while celebrating South Asian flavors on a global stage.
The inclusion of Patel, Hyder, and Baber on the TIME100 Creators 2026 list underscores the expanding global impact of South Asian talent across diverse sectors—from artificial intelligence and digital entrepreneurship to food, lifestyle, and entertainment. Their achievements also reflect how creators from the South Asian diaspora are leveraging digital platforms to educate, inspire, and influence millions of people around the world.
As the creator economy continues to reshape media, business, and public discourse, these three “Desis” exemplify how expertise, authenticity, and creativity can transcend borders, making South Asian voices increasingly prominent on the global digital stage.
