India's Tata Consultancy Services plans up to 8,900 AI deployment engineers, seeks AI acquisitions
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
BENGALURU, July 12 : Tata Consultancy Services is building a team of up to 8,900 forward-deployed engineers and hunting for AI acquisitions as it bets artificial intelligence will create new business rather than undermine outsourcing, two TCS executives told Reuters.
The strategy emerges amid investor concern that AI could disrupt India's $315 billion IT services industry by reducing demand for engineering teams, shortening project timelines and squeezing prices as clients seek a share of productivity gains.
"We would be ... ensuring that we have as many as 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent of our associates who could be what you would call FDEs," CEO K Krithivasan said in an interview. TCS is India's largest software services firm.
Krithivasan's figures would translate to roughly 5,900 to 8,900 employees based on TCS's end-June headcount. Krithivasan did not say whether the company would hire externally or retrain existing staff.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
Forward-deployed engineers embed with clients to accelerate AI adoption and tailor tools to business needs, a role that has emerged as a hiring bright spot in a sector grappling with AI-driven efficiency gains.
The plan pits TCS against firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft, which have expanded hiring for forward-deployed engineers to help clients deploy AI tools.
The Mumbai-based company is also evaluating acquisitions in AI, data security and cybersecurity, after largely shunning acquisitions for years and relying instead on organic growth until late 2025.
"We are looking at where we can find things which will help us enable or enhance our strategic positioning," CFO Samir Seksaria said.
AI: FRIEND OR FOE?
Krithivasan dismissed concerns that AI would disrupt the outsourcing model, arguing that companies still need partners such as TCS to integrate and deploy AI systems.
"What you need is a deep knowledge of the customer environment to make it work. That is where we differentiate ourselves. This has nothing to do with cost arbitrage. It's essentially because of the talent pool that we have built," Krithivasan said.
Companies increasingly use multiple AI models and require partners such as TCS to connect those models with existing systems and manage data flows, he said.
Even so, TCS's annualised AI revenue growth slowed to 13 per cent in the first quarter from 28 per cent in the previous quarter. Krithivasan said he would like the business to grow about 25 per cent quarter-on-quarter over the long term but that he did not expect a linear trajectory.
TCS spends about $1 billion annually on talent development and making AI accessible internally, with a focus on training, targeted hiring and niche recruitment in AI-native technologies, Seksaria said.
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app