The
Indian
IT services
industry
is undergoing a
transformation
so profound that
it might soon
become
unrecognisable.
This goes far
beyond a routine
shift to the
cloud or
buzzword-driven
push into
so-called
“digital
transformation”.
This
time, it’s all
about agents.
Specifically,
autonomous AI
agents.
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The
shift is evident
not just in
earnings calls
and strategy
decks, but also
in headcount,
delivery models,
organisational
charts and even
revenue
structure.
Q1
FY26 makes one
thing clear:
Indian IT
firms are no
longer merely
preparing for
AI; they are
already
deploying
it.
Moreover,
they are doing
so at a scale
that few outside
the industry had
anticipated.
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TCS Shrinks to
Grow
TCS,
the ₹12 lakh
crore behemoth,
reported ₹63,437
crore in revenue
this quarter, a
modest 1.3% YoY
increase.
But
the real
headline wasn’t
the growth. It
was the
reduction of
over 12,000
employees,
the steepest
drop in
headcount in
recent
quarters.
While
the management
attributed it to
“efficiency
improvements”,
the writing is
on the wall:
agentic systems
are beginning to
replace roles
that lack
scalability.
TCS
is also
reorganising its
teams around
AI-led
practices,
platform-based
offerings and
reusable agents
designed to plug
into client
systems with
minimal
friction. The
company isn’t
just offering AI
services; it’s
embedding AI
into the
services model
itself.
Yet,
even as the
shift gathers
pace, TCS chief
innovation
officer
Bala
Prasad
Peddigari
sounds
a note of
caution.
In an exclusive
interaction with
AIM,
he pointed out
that most
agentic systems
today still
struggle with
accuracy,
domain-specific
fine-tuning and
contextual
awareness,
making
enterprise-grade
deployment a
work in
progress, not a
done
deal.
TCS,
however, is
taking a
long-view
approach by
building
360-degree
ecosystem
partnerships and
deeply
integrating AI
into its
delivery
backbone, rather
than chasing
flashy one-off
deployments.
Infosys Keeps It
Quiet and
Real
If
TCS is in the
midst of
restructuring,
Infosys
is already
shipping.
The
company has
deployed
over
300 AI
agents
across internal
operations and
client-facing
services. Their
AI stack,
Topaz,
blends
proprietary
models, open
weights and
third-party
integrations.
With
₹41,206 crore in
revenue, 3.8%
growth, and $3.8
billion in large
deals, Infosys
didn’t just
speak of AI; it
executed.
Infosys CEO
Salil Parekh
called it
“industrial-grade
AI”, the kind
that replaces 10
slide decks with
one line of
working
code.
Infosys
also trained 95%
of its delivery
staff in GenAI
basics and use
cases, not in
labs, but on
live
projects.
[Must
Watch]
Check out our
exclusive
coverage of
Infosys’ latest
earnings—only on
Front
Page.
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Wipro’s Growing
Pains
Wipro’s
revenue
declined
2.3% YoY to
₹22,530
crore,
its weakest
performance in
recent memory.
However, its
GenAI bets are
surprisingly
aggressive. The
company secured
$5 billion in
deal bookings
this quarter,
alongside
building and
deploying
over
200 AI
agents,
and reported a
GenAI-anchored
deal pipeline
worth $2.7
billion, a
staggering
131%
increase
compared
to the same
period last
year.
Notably,
every
one of the
63 large
deals
Wipro signed
included GenAI
use cases, from
smart cloud
agents to AI
observability
layers. The
company
reorganised its
global business
lines to
consolidate AI,
analytics and
infrastructure
under a unified
tech services
vertical.
It
also trained
over
87,000
employees
in GenAI tools,
one of the
highest among
peers.
Since
taking over as
CEO in April
2024, CEO
Srini
Pallia
has led Wipro
through a
critical pivot,
away from
disjointed
digital promises
towards
cohesive
AI
delivery.
Pallia’s
focus is clear:
turn Wipro into
a builder’s
company, not
just a billing
partner.
“Every
major deal now
has AI at its
core,” he
declared
recently,
underscoring
Wipro’s move
from
experimentation
to scaled
execution.
HCLTech Bets on
OpenAI, Not Just
Azure
While
others access
GPT through
Microsoft,
HCLTech
is working
directly
with
OpenAI,
embedding models
into its
enterprise
offerings and
federated agent
stacks.
The
company reported
₹30,349 crore in
revenue, marking
a 3.7% YoY
growth and has
already trained
1,27,000
employees in
generative
AI.
However,
HCL’s agent
focus is
different; it’s
aimed at
productising
automation.
They
are rolling out
a series of
AI-augmented
tools across
ITSM, infra and
cybersecurity,
wrapped around
OpenAI’s APIs
and their own
agent
layer.
While
profits
dipped 10%
this
quarter,
the long-term
play is clear:
turn every
repetitive task
into a
GPT-powered
agent.
Tech Mahindra’s
Surprise
Comeback
After
multiple muted
quarters,
Tech
Mahindra
posted a 34%
profit
jump
this
quarter.
The
numbers? ₹13,351
crore in revenue
(up 2.7%), over
200 agents in
production and
77,000 employees
trained in
GenAI.
Much
of this is
powered by
KOGO,
Tech Mahindra’s
in-house
orchestration
platform, which
builds compliant
and observable
agents for
enterprise
needs.
Their
focus is on
industrial agent
frameworks,
compliant by
design, reusable
across verticals
and optimised
for hybrid
infrastructure.
Mid-Sized IT is
Playing
Offence
While
the Big Five
transition
cautiously,
mid-tier
IT firms are
going all
in.
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These
firms aren’t
experimenting
with GenAI, they
are
shipping
it into BFSI,
manufacturing,
retail and
travel.
Persistent
Systems, for
example, is
leading ERP
migration
projects powered
entirely by
agents.
LTIMindtree is
building modular
orchestration
layers for
enterprise
clients, using
open-source LLMs
and custom agent
frameworks.
Smaller
size = faster
loops = quicker
agent
integration.
The
result? Higher
growth, lower
bloat.
Where’s the AI
Revenue?
Everyone’s
building agents.
But how many are
billing
for them?
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TCS?
No revenue
disclosure.
-
Infosys?
No
AI-specific
number.
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HCLTech?
Deal wins
down from 12
last quarter
to nine
now.
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Accenture?
$1.5 billion
in GenAI
bookings
just this
quarter.
Indian
IT’s agent push
is impressive.
However,
clarity
on
monetisation
is still
missing.
That
could become a
problem,
especially when
clients start
demanding ROI
from their AI
pilots.
Indian IT’s
Future: From
Pyramid to Agent
Grid
The
traditional IT
delivery model
was clear:
bench, pyramid,
utilisation and
billing.
However,
agents don’t
need benches. Or
layers. Or even
human
managers.
They
need
orchestration,
observability,
fine-tuning and
continuous
feedback
loops.
This
quarter signals
the beginning of
that
rewrite:
-
Fewer
FTEs, more
autonomous
processes
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Platform-led
growth, not
just
people-led
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Agents
as revenue
units, not
just support
tools
This
isn’t just a
tech transition.
It’s an
org
shift,
a
mindset
reset,
and perhaps,
Indian IT’s most
defining
transformation
since the Y2K
era.
That’s all for
this
week.
If
you found this
newsletter
insightful,
share it with a
friend, a
colleague, or
that one person
who still thinks
Indian IT can’t
build AI beyond
PoCs.
And
if you haven’t
subscribed to
our AIM
Tv
channel
yet, now’s a
good time. We
break down the
world of tech
and AI in real
time—crisp,
clear and always
ahead of the
curve.
While
you are at it,
here’s a quick
look at some
of the
top stories of
the week.
-
Cognizant
is betting
$1
billion
in ‘vibe
coding’
to make
AI write
50% of
all
code,
open
software
development
to
non-engineers
and redefine
who gets to
build in the
AI era,
challenging
Indian IT’s
agent-led
status quo
with a more
inclusive,
creative
future.
-
While
Big Tech
views India
as a market,
Perplexity
sees
it as a
mission,
betting on
Bharat with
free student
access,
Airtel
and
Paytm
tie-ups, and
a shift from
chatbots to
agentic
search, all
while
staying
fiercely
independent
in a world
ruled by
tech
giants.
-
LinkedIn
gave the
world Kafka;
now
it’s
outgrowing
its own
creation,
replacing it
with
Northguard
and Xinfra—a
self-healing,
cloud-native
pub-sub
layer built
for 32
trillion
daily events
and a future
Kafka was
never
designed to
handle.
Now,
let’s explore
some exciting
collaborations
and exclusive
insights from
the
AIM
ecosystem,
brought to you
with a unique
twist outside
our standard
editorial
content.
-
In
a world
where your
job could
change
before your
title does,
Tredence is
building a
talent
engine that
learns
faster than
technology
evolves,
blending
bootcamps,
live
experiments,
and role
transitions
into a
system built
for the AI
era.
Learn
more
here.
-
What
if your
voice could
be
understood,
without
changing who
you are?
Sanas is
tackling
accent bias
with
real-time
Speech AI
that
preserves
identity
while
improving
clarity, and
India might
just be its
biggest
proving
ground.
Read
the full
story.
-
AI
agents
aren’t just
automating
tasks—they
are
reasoning,
learning and
collaborating
with humans
to reshape
how work
gets done.
This deep
dive by
ValueLabs
explores how
agentic AI
is
redefining
enterprise
roles, and
why the
future of
work is
‘Human +
AI’, not
human vs AI.
Read
more
here.
-
As
GBS and GCCs
outgrow
back-office
roles, this
report
reveals why
platform-led,
AI-first
models,
powered by
Agentic AI,
are
redefining
enterprise
value
creation,
from
incremental
automation
to
intelligent
reinvention.
Read
the full
EdgeVerve-SSON
collaborative
report
here.
-
Every
employee
managing a
team of AI
agents isn’t
sci-fi
anymore;
it’s the
foundation
of AI-native
thinking. At
MachineCon
2025,
UnifyApps
and Virtusa
unpacked how
India’s GCCs
are leading
this shift
from tool
adoption to
enterprise
reinvention.
Read
the full
story.
Now
that you are
caught up on the
top headlines
and insights
from our partner
ecosystem, let’s
shift gears,
because one
question
continues to
dominate
boardrooms: what
truly makes a
workplace great
for data and AI
professionals?
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AIM’s
newly released
list of Best
Firms answers
just that,
spotlighting
organisations
like
TheMathCompany,
CEAT, AB InBev
and Wipro, each
recognised for
building
purpose-driven,
people-first AI
workplaces,
backed by
employee
sentiment and
independent
benchmarks.
Learn
more
here.
[Watch
Now]
Moreover,
speaking of
building for the
future, Google
just dropped its
biggest
India-first AI
announcements at
I/O Connect 2025
in Namma
Bengaluru, and
AIM Tv was at
the centre of it
all. From
real-time demos
with Gemini 2.5
to exclusive
conversations
with Google
DeepMind and the
team behind
Gemma, we
captured what
Google is really
building for
India’s
developers.
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