OpenAI, Anthropic are starting service companies, it is good news for Indian IT sector

Anthropic and OpenAI are entering the world of SaaS – software as a service – but with AI. This may come across as bad news for Indian IT giants like TCS and Infosys. But look closer, it is actually very good news for them and for Indian IT employees.

In Short

• Anthropic, OpenAI start AI service companies
• This can actually benefit Indian IT sector a lot
• Firms like TCS and Infosys, instead of turning irrelevant, may get validated 

Nowadays, whenever Anthropic, or OpenAI, does something, many hearts within the giant Indian IT sector skip a beat. Anxieties rise and spreadsheet projections on future earnings change. That is because almost everything AI companies like Anthropic, Google and OpenAI do, has the potential to cut into the revenues of SaaS giants like TCS and Infosys. Yet, a few days ago, when Anthropic and OpenAI actually took a direct swing at the SaaS market by forming new service companies, the move might actually end up benefitting the Indian IT industry in a significant way.

Confused? You would be if you just looked at the headlines. That is because the headlines are screaming that Anthropic and OpenAI are now directly competing with the likes of Infosys and TCS. They have formed two companies, in a joint venture with partners. OpenAI has gotten into partnership with several financial firms to create an entity called The Deployment Company. This is a through and through a SaaS company. Anthropic has made a similar move by partnering with large financial companies, including Blackrock, to create a similar SaaS company that “will serve as an accelerant in bringing AI solutions to mid-size companies, helping to drive adoption.”

In other words, Anthropic and OpenAI are trying to do the job of what TCS and Infosys do when it comes to technology adoption within companies.

Bad news for TCS, Infosys and, in general, for the Indian IT sector? It may seem so, but it may actually turn out to be totally the opposite. It might end up being the blessing in disguise for the Indian IT giants.

Indian IT industry gets validation?

One problem with technology, and more so with new technology, adoption. This is where Indian SaaS giants come. And now by getting into SaaS, Anthropic and OpenAI have just validated the work that Indian IT giants do. In other words, they have highlighted that even in the AI world, the role that SaaS companies play is not going anywhere. In fact, it might become even more important.

Vishal Sirohi, the co-founder of Island Computing, an Indian AI infrastructure company, touches upon this when he talks of AI integration. “The last mile is still the hard work. Integration with systems of record, change management, security review, regulated-industry deployment and more importantly operating systems over time,” Vishal told India Today Tech.

He says that this is where AI companies like Anthropic potentially lag behind Indian SaaS. He added, “This is the work Indian IT has been doing for two decades.”

So what does this mean? In simple terms, companies like TCS and Infosys are dedicated at integrating new tech for their clients. While it was looking as if SaaS would disintegrate and will no longer be needed because of AI, the latest move from Anthropic and OpenAI reveals that the fears were overblown. Ashish Tandon, the CEO of Indusface, another Indian IT firm, told India Today Tech, “(SaaS) helps enterprises as they don't want tools, they want outcomes, and outcomes need service wrapped around the technology. That's why OpenAI and Anthropic are moving in this direction.”

The pie will be big enough for all

The question, however, still remains that if Anthropic and OpenAI are directly competing with the likes of TCS and Infosys, how will it benefit Indian IT giants. Well, the answer is in the scale and scope of the opportunity.

If AI is what it is, chances are that it will need to be integrated across the world, in millions of companies large and small in the shortest possible time. Given this reality, while it is possible that Anthropic and OpenAI may get a large share of the AI SaaS business, the pie will be big enough to benefit the traditional SaaS experts like TCS and Infosys.

The key for India tech companies, however, would be to move quickly to grab the opportunities. Sumed Marwaha, the Managing Director of Ahead-India, says it is time for Indian firms to evolve for an AI-driven future. He tells India Today Tech, “SaaS companies that stand still will struggle. SaaS companies that redesign their products around AI native workflows and agentic experiences are likely to see more demand, not less.”

There are indications that Indian IT giants are indeed moving quickly. Earlier this year, Infosys signed a deal with Anthropic that does exactly the kind of work that the newly created SaaS entities would do for Anthropic and OpenAI in the US. Marwaha adds, “Anthropic brings the model capability. Infosys brings deep industry knowledge, integration depth, and long term client trust in highly regulated sectors.”

OpenAI has similar arrangements with TCS and Infosys that helps integrate its coding agent Codex into systems of client companies.

While it is still early days when it comes to the future of SaaS in integrating AI tools for clients, it seems that the future of TCS or Infosys or Wipro might not be as grim as previously speculated. At least that is the sign that Anthropic and OpenAI offer with their own in-house SaaS moves. They are validating that everything Indian IT giants have been doing for years, and they are hinting that this work will continue to be important even in future. Claude Cowork may be able to do a lot of things on its own, but for an enterprise it may not be of use unless they can actually make it work with their systems. And this is where Indian IT may have the chance to shine.

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