TCS presses reset on AI strategy as it shifts from pilots to payback

NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 08:29 ET

Tata Consultancy Services is rolling out an internal and customer-facing reset to prepare for an artificial intelligence-driven future, The Economic Times reported. ^[1]
The company is shifting AI work from pilots and proof-of-concepts to scaled deployments tied to return on investment. ^[2]
TCS is introducing an autonomy framework and expanding workforce training as it reshapes delivery and roles. ^[3]

Tata Consultancy Services is launching a sweeping internal overhaul and a fresh push to customers as it positions itself for an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven future, The Economic Times reported on Monday. ^[4]

The company is shifting from small AI pilots and proof-of-concept projects — limited trials — to scaled deployments tied to return on investment, or whether spending pays off. ^[5]

The move highlights how AI is forcing outsourcing firms to rethink a labor-heavy model as customers demand measurable productivity gains and faster delivery. “Every conversation today is an AI conversation,” TCS President and COO Aarthi Subramanian said in the interview. ^[6]

TCS has posted modest growth over the last two fiscal years, hit by geopolitical uncertainties and AI-led disruption, though it crossed the $30 billion revenue milestone in FY25, the newspaper said. ^[7]

In the last six months, it has laid off 2% of its workforce, or about 12,000 employees, entered the data center segment and completed its first acquisition in nearly a decade, the Economic Times reported. ^[8]

In a Dec. 25 analysis, Mint said some industry watchers see a risk that AI improves efficiency but replaces older IT services revenue rather than adding net new business. ^[9]

Chief Executive K Krithivasan has set a goal for TCS to become the world’s largest AI-led technology services company, according to the Economic Times. Tata Sons reappointed Subramanian as COO in April 2025 as the company sharpened its pivot toward AI. ^[10]

TCS has appointed Amit Kapur as chief AI and services transformation officer, reporting to Subramanian, to sharpen its focus on large-scale delivery, the Economic Times said. ^[11]

The company has introduced a five-level autonomy framework across its service lines to help customers move from automation to autonomy, where AI performs a growing share of tasks. ^[12]

TCS is applying that framework across areas such as application development, testing, infrastructure and enterprise resource planning (ERP) — business software suites that run finance and operations — the Economic Times reported. ^[13]

The shift has included selective layoffs, largely at senior and mid-level roles no longer aligned with future needs, the newspaper said. TCS still logged about 19,000 net additions in the most recent quarter and said it has not scaled down hiring. ^[14]

TCS has rolled out an internal training push called TCS to the Power AI aimed at making each of its more than 600,000 employees an AI practitioner. It has expanded access to foundational models — large pre-trained AI systems — along with tools from hyperscalers, the biggest cloud providers, and coding assistants, the Economic Times reported. ^[15]

The company recently concluded what it described as the world’s largest AI hackathon, with 280,000 employees participating and more than 500,000 ideas and builds submitted, the newspaper said. It is also running weekly AI Fridays at onsite labs, and said the number of employees with advanced AI capabilities has more than doubled over the past year to about 180,000. ^[16]

TCS is redesigning internal functions including IT, human resources, finance, learning, procurement and legal using AI-first solutions, with a sharper focus on productivity and return on investment, the Economic Times reported. ^[17]

For customers, TCS has formalised a three-step engagement model — innovate with AI, build with AI and scale with AI — that includes workshops for top executives, prototypes delivered in hours and deployments completed in weeks, according to the newspaper. ^[18]

TCS also wants to position itself as an end-to-end AI player spanning data-center infrastructure, platforms and intelligent agents — AI software that can carry out tasks with limited human input. The company is pursuing deeper partnerships with hyperscalers, enterprise software firms and AI-native companies, as well as selective acquisitions and new ventures such as its data-center entity, the Economic Times reported. ^[19]

TCS competes for global technology services work with firms such as Accenture, and with Indian peers including Infosys and Wipro.

The autonomy framework is designed to let TCS assess a client’s maturity, define a roadmap and proactively share productivity gains, which it says helps expand existing accounts and win new deals. ^[20]