What Anand Mahindra said on markets whipsawing post Citrini AI report; adds another scenario to debate
Acknowledging the report as a "great thought exercise," Mahindra dropped a classic Mark Twain line: “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
- Feb 26, 2026,
- Updated Feb 26, 2026 1:42 PM IST
Global markets are currently experiencing a sharp AI concern trading sessions, sparked by a macro-analysis from Citrini Research titled ‘The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis’. The report explores a fictional scenario where the rapid success of artificial intelligence triggers systemic economic instability by June 2028.
Reacting to this, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra offered a perspective on X this Thursday. Acknowledging the report as a "great thought exercise," Mahindra dropped a classic Mark Twain line: “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
While he admitted that he doesn't have a foolproof counter-scenario for a future that remains "magically uncertain," Mahindra noted that the markets are simply trying to price in that uncertainty.
“AI will undoubtedly put pressure on IT services companies. Yes, they will need to become more efficient, reduce cost structures, rethink headcount models and move away from pure effort-based pricing toward outcomes & value delivery,” Mahindra wrote.
“But what if AI does not eliminate service providers & instead makes the best ones even more central?” he questioned
As AI systems scale, Mahindra pointed out that enterprises will still need experts to ensure secure data foundations, integration across legacy and cloud systems, governance, compliance and auditability, and mission-critical reliability.
“Especially for medium and large enterprises, integration is messy, regulation is heavy, and failure costs are high,” he said.
The ultimate differentiator in this era, according to Mahindra, will not be who supplies the effort, but who manages the risk and delivers outcomes. “The differentiator may not be who supplies effort but who can deliver outcomes, manage risk and help deliver ‘Scale at Speed’ as we like to say at @tech_mahindra,” he added.
“So an alternate scenario, offered with humility and not certainty, is that services firms that pivot decisively toward AI orchestration and outcome-based delivery will remain extremely relevant,” he said.
Meanwhile, market sentiment around Tech Mahindra remained steady amid the debate. On Thursday, at last check, shares of the IT major rose 0.20% to Rs 1364.50 apiece on the BSE, up against its previous close of Rs 1361.80.
Global markets are currently experiencing a sharp AI concern trading sessions, sparked by a macro-analysis from Citrini Research titled ‘The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis’. The report explores a fictional scenario where the rapid success of artificial intelligence triggers systemic economic instability by June 2028.
Reacting to this, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra offered a perspective on X this Thursday. Acknowledging the report as a "great thought exercise," Mahindra dropped a classic Mark Twain line: “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
While he admitted that he doesn't have a foolproof counter-scenario for a future that remains "magically uncertain," Mahindra noted that the markets are simply trying to price in that uncertainty.
“AI will undoubtedly put pressure on IT services companies. Yes, they will need to become more efficient, reduce cost structures, rethink headcount models and move away from pure effort-based pricing toward outcomes & value delivery,” Mahindra wrote.
“But what if AI does not eliminate service providers & instead makes the best ones even more central?” he questioned
As AI systems scale, Mahindra pointed out that enterprises will still need experts to ensure secure data foundations, integration across legacy and cloud systems, governance, compliance and auditability, and mission-critical reliability.
“Especially for medium and large enterprises, integration is messy, regulation is heavy, and failure costs are high,” he said.
The ultimate differentiator in this era, according to Mahindra, will not be who supplies the effort, but who manages the risk and delivers outcomes. “The differentiator may not be who supplies effort but who can deliver outcomes, manage risk and help deliver ‘Scale at Speed’ as we like to say at @tech_mahindra,” he added.
“So an alternate scenario, offered with humility and not certainty, is that services firms that pivot decisively toward AI orchestration and outcome-based delivery will remain extremely relevant,” he said.
Meanwhile, market sentiment around Tech Mahindra remained steady amid the debate. On Thursday, at last check, shares of the IT major rose 0.20% to Rs 1364.50 apiece on the BSE, up against its previous close of Rs 1361.80.