Up to four in every five recruits brought on board by Tata Consultancy Services going forward are expected to hold expertise in digital technologies and artificial intelligence, according to a senior company representative.
AI-related contracts climbed to roughly 10 per cent of total revenue in the July-to-September quarter, with the firm's leadership indicating that a rising proportion of such work is expected to widen profit margins, which have yet to reach the targets the company has set for itself. Chief Operating Officer Arathi Subramanian told a broadcaster that of the 4,500 hires brought on board in the second quarter, somewhere between 25 and 30 per cent were dedicated AI roles, with the broader new-age category accounting for around 80 per cent of that intake.
Subramanian confirmed that the ratio would be maintained going forward, and noted that the necessary talent pool exists within the labour market. Posed with the question of whether AI fluency and lower salary expectations give newer entrants an edge over those mid-way through their careers, she responded that the real advantage belongs to anyone prepared to shed existing knowledge and rebuild it.
Chief Executive and Managing Director K Krithivasan extended that view, noting that a mid-level engineer who pursues the same openness to learning brings additional depth through familiarity with the technology landscape and the relevant domain, something a junior engineer may not yet have developed. Krithivasan noted that recruitment of specialised talent would remain a priority, while deals involving acquisitions, partnerships, and external collaborations were also earmarked as channels for future capital deployment.
Krithivasan also noted that expanding volumes of AI-related contracts are expected to carry positive implications for profit margins. Clients typically begin with a narrowly scoped AI contract, Subramanian noted, and once that initial investment demonstrates its value, they tend to push for the same capabilities to be rolled out across other parts of the business.
When asked about the share of AI-related activity within the quarter's USD 9.6 billion total contract value, Krithivasan noted that the company applies a careful, narrow standard before labelling any deal as AI-driven, while also pointing out that virtually every piece of work the company currently handles carries some element of AI within it. Posed a question about whether the Porsche and Best Buy contract wins — both involving the absorption of client staff into TCS — pointed to broader difficulties in the marketplace, Krithivasan pushed back on that characterisation, describing the two arrangements instead as situations where clients approached TCS seeking guidance on how to reshape their operations and move toward an AI-first model.
