Not afraid of AI taking away livelihoods; urging staff to use it even if it cannibalises revenue: TCS MD and CEO

At a time when there is growing concern on how artificial intelligence (AI) will impact the legacy software services industry, Tata Consultancy Services is going all-in and urging employees to use AI tools to deliver work, even if it came at the cost of revenue cannibalisation. 

Also read: TCS, Infosys, Wipro at risk as AI threatens India’s IT export engine, Citrini report warns

K. Krithivasan, MD and CEO of TCS, the country’s largest software exporter, sees AI as a “civilisational shift” and said the company does not fear AI taking away livelihoods. Rather, he believes it will create m0ore opportunities.

He said that each of the company’s over 600,000 associates have been given sufficient access to AI and has been encouraging associates to engage with clients on AI. 

“We encourage our associates to go out (to clients on AI). If you find you can do something faster, better, cheaper with AI, you should tell your customers, even if it means it cannibalises our revenue,” said Krithivasan, speaking at the Nasscom Technology and Leadership Forum in Mumbai. 

On Tuesday, HCL Technologies’ MD and CEO C. Vijayakumar said there were significant new opportunities ahead for the industry driven by AI adoption. He had, however, stated the transition was going to be “painful”. 

Krithivasan pointed out that AI is now a board-driven agenda, with a strong push for enterprises to invest in AI-driven solutions. He added that associates at the junior level were far more comfortable with the technology. However, he felt as one moved up to the senior level, while they were hearing a lot, they were not building much on those skills. 

Krithivasan also noted that everyone wanted to learn this tech and therefore there was no need to incentivise. He stated that associates were now encouraged to ensure that solutions provided to customers were AI-first. 

Speaking after the company's second quarter earnings in October 2025, Krithivasan had said TCS was on a journey to become the world’s largest AI-led technology services company. Earlier this month, TCS and ServicesNow signed a multi-year partnership to help enterprises speed up AI adoption across their businesses. 

Tata Group, TCS and OpenAI have also announced a multi-dimensional strategic partnership, that will drive AI-powered innovation across enterprise, consumer, and social sectors.

IT stocks hammered in February

Indian IT stocks have been among the worst performers in recent weeks as fears mount that AI could undermine the outsourcing model built on large workforces billed by the hour.

About $68.6 billion in market value has been wiped out from the sector in February amid concerns over automation, global demand uncertainty and Donald Trump's tariff risks.

The Nifty IT index plunged more than 3,000 points, or 9.13%, in the past five sessions till 24 February and is down 19.42% so far in 2026. Shares of TCS, Infosys and Wipro fell to their 52-week lows on 24 February.

However, the Nifty IT Index recovered 472.85 points to close at 30,526.35 in the current session.

Market sentiment worsened after AI research firm Anthropic revealed that its “Claude Code” tool can modernise software written in COBOL, the decades-old language still used in banking, insurance and government systems worldwide. 

Adding to the pessimism, Citrini Research’s recent note titled “The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis” warned that contract cancellations at TCS, Infosys and Wipro could accelerate through 2027 as clients increasingly turn to AI to build and maintain software internally.

Brokerage Jefferies has also downgraded six Indian IT stocks, arguing that AI will structurally reshape the industry’s revenue mix. The firm expects a shift toward consulting, integration and transformation work, while traditional managed services long the backbone of outsourcing contracts, could shrink.