Infosys sees a $300-400 billion opportunity emerging in AI-first services by the end of the decade as enterprises race to modernise decades-old technology systems to deploy artificial intelligence at scale, Chairman Nandan Nilekani said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the company’s 45th annual general meeting, Nilekani said that the next phase of AI adoption would require companies to overhaul legacy technology infrastructure, eliminate technical debt and integrate AI systems with core transaction platforms, creating a significant growth opportunity for technology services firms.
“The AI deployment gap that large enterprises are facing creates a massive opportunity for companies like Infosys,” Nilekani said. “AI will not replace companies like ours. It will amplify those who move with purpose and adapt with speed.”
According to Nilekani, while generative AI has captured boardroom attention globally, many enterprises continue to struggle with moving beyond pilot projects because of the complexity of integrating AI with existing systems. As organisations seek to modernise applications, strengthen cybersecurity frameworks and improve data governance, the role of systems integrators is likely to become more important rather than less, he said.
“The biggest opportunity lies in combining AI systems, including models and agents, with traditional transaction systems that still underlie enterprise operations,” Nilekani said. “It is said that to anticipate the future, we should skate to where the puck is going. In this case, the puck is coming to where we have already positioned ourselves.”
He added that enterprises are increasingly opting to build customised software capabilities rather than purchase off-the-shelf solutions as they look to embed AI into business processes. “Their preference will be to build versus buy for software. All this creates even larger opportunities for us,” he said.
The company is already working with 90% of its top 200 clients on AI initiatives, Nilekani disclosed.
What did Salil Parekh say?
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Salil Parekh said Infosys’ annualised AI services revenue has crossed $1 billion and continues to grow faster than the company’s overall business. The company is currently engaged in about 4,800 AI projects, while nearly 90% of its clients are now categorised as AI aware.
Infosys has also developed around 600 AI agents and continues to expand its team of forward deployed engineers, a specialised workforce focused on implementing AI solutions directly with customers.
Despite growing use of AI within the organisation, Parekh said the technology would not alter Infosys’ hiring strategy. The company recruited 20,000 freshers in FY26, taking its total workforce to about 325,000 employees, and expects to maintain a similar approach in FY27.
“We will use AI agents along with humans to focus on different types of work,” Parekh said. “Artificial intelligence adoption is still in a very early stage for many of our clients and industries and we will see a lot of expertise being developed both human and agent-based.”
Executives attributed the moderation in revenue growth to continued macroeconomic uncertainty and cautious discretionary spending by clients. However, Parekh said gains from AI-led productivity are increasingly being reinvested by customers into new technology programmes, helping expand Infosys’ addressable market. The company is also seeing revenue per employee rise faster than headcount growth, contributing to a 50 basis point improvement in margins during FY25.