Can AI replace Infosys? Nandan Nilekani responds

At a time when there are fears that Indian IT companies may struggle in the age of AI, Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani has responded to such comments. Here is what he said.

In Short

• Infosys chairman says AI won't replace the company, but amplify it
• Nandan Nilekani says AI-first services market to be worth $400 billion by 2030
• Infosys already has annualised revenue of $1 billlion for AI services

In recent months, there has been a growing debate on the potential impact of AI on SaaS companies, particularly Indian giants like Infosys and TCS. Shares of Indian IT firms have often taken a hit due to this uncertainty. However, Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani remains confident that AI cannot replace his company, and rather may serve as a new opportunity for growth.

During Infosys’ 45th Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, Nilekani discussed the potential impact AI may have. The Infosys chairman insisted that companies that adapt to AI, may see their business grow. He said, “AI will not replace companies like ours. It will amplify those who move with purpose and adapt with speed.”

While Indian SaaS companies do not make their own models, Nandan Nilekani pointed out that the companies can help clients integrate AI models into their systems. He explained, "Value will come from combining the world of models, agents with traditional transaction systems.”

Keep in mind that Indian IT companies have been helping modernise and maintain software systems for clients for decades. This could be particularly useful as Nilekani pointed out that AI deployment gap remains a real issue for large clients. The Infosys chariman added, "The AI deployment gap in large enterprise clients is real, and closing that gap is where the work is.”

AI deployment refers to the integration of AI models into pre-existing systems of a company. And a gap here means that a client may need to hire a company like Infosys to complete the integration.

Infosys to focus on billion dollar AI-first services

According to Nandan Nilekani, "More than three years after GenAI was launched, Infosys is more relevant than ever before and well positioned for the decade ahead.”

He added that AI-first services is a massive market that can help Infosys grow. Nilekani said, "Infosys keen to tap into AI-first services opportunity of $300 to $400 billion by 2030." He said Infosys was already positioned to benefit from that shift and was working with 90 per cent of its top 200 clients on their AI journeys

Earlier this year, OpenAI and Anthropic began their own AI service companies. India Today Tech previously reported that this could be good news for Indian IT firms as it potentially validates the need for service tools even as AI goes mainstream.

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh also said AI-led technology modernisation was emerging as one of the company’s biggest growth areas. "Modernisation of technology using agents is one of the largest areas today," Parekh said.

Parekh added, "All big frontier AI and compute companies are working with Infosys closely. The Infosys CEO claimed that the company was already seeing rapid growth in AI services. He noted, "We already see about annualised $1 billion of AI services revenue, growing at a very good pace."

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