Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani on Tuesday argued that artificial intelligence (AI) is creating a far bigger opportunity than threat for the IT services industry amid existential questions about the future of the sector, including whether companies are needed at all if coding becomes largely automated.
Positioning Infosys at the centre of what it estimates to be a $300-400-billion AI-first services market by 2030, Nilekani said the company’s relevance has only increased as enterprises struggle to deploy AI at scale.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday, Nilekani said every major technological transition has sparked doubts about the industry’s future, but the concerns have become louder with generative AI because of its disruptive potential.
“The existential question that is being asked of us is, if coding becomes automated, then why are we needed at all?” Nilekani said.
More than three years after the launch of generative AI, Infosys is “more relevant than ever before”, he said, arguing that the real challenge for enterprises lies in deploying AI effectively across their operations.
“The AI deployment gap in our large enterprise clients is real, and closing that gap is where the work is,” he said.
According to Nilekani, AI will not replace technology services firms but will amplify those that adapt quickly. The biggest opportunity lies in integrating AI models and autonomous agents with mission-critical enterprise platforms and transaction systems that continue to underpin business operations.
Infosys recently unveiled its AI-first value framework aimed at helping enterprises scale AI adoption. Nilekani said the framework positions the company to tap into an AI-first services opportunity estimated at $300-400 billion by 2030.
The company is also preparing its workforce for the transition by reskilling employees and redeploying staff freed up through productivity gains into new growth areas. Infosys recruited more than 20,000 college graduates during FY26 and ended the year with a workforce of over 325,000 employees.
Infosys chief executive officer and managing director Salil Parekh said AI-related services have already become a meaningful contributor to the company’s business.
“In Q3, we had shared that 5.5 per cent of our revenue was in AI services, which is approximately $1 billion annualised. We continue to see good growth in AI services revenue,” Parekh said.
“The big plans for us as we look ahead in the financial year 2027 and even beyond are in the AI services area. We continue to see outside that competitive intensity and also the productivity impact on the revenues. With all that put together, we have given a guidance of 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent growth for the full year,” he said.