The PM really useful that given the rise of worldwide functionality facilities (GCC) in India, firms ought to construct “plug and play” infrastructure for GCCs, Kumar stated. IT parks full with purchasing malls and different services might be constructed round railway infrastructure, he stated.
“We mentioned intimately about making India the workplace of the world,” stated Kumar.
US-listed Cognizant is getting into an AI-linked ‘breakaway’ development part that would not merely harness extra fingers for income, Kumar informed ET, sharing the roadmap for what may grow to be an industry-defining pivot that breaks away from a linear enterprise mannequin hitherto tied to the variety of engineers deployed on a mission.
Purchasers, Ravi Kumar stated, are recalibrating know-how spending round generative and agentic AI, and he expects demand to be higher in 2026 as extra firms zero in on Agentic AI capabilities to do ‘extra with much less’.
Mumbai itemizing
Kumar added that the NASDAQ-listed agency is “exploring choices” for a secondary itemizing in India.
“Sure, we’re exploring choices that are proper for our traders. It is also a possibility to discover new traders,” he stated. Cognizant reported full yr revenues of $19.7 billion in 2024 and is barely forward of Infosys, India’s second IT agency.
Whereas tech majors like Microsoft and Amazon have made headlines for his or her big-ticket investments in India this week, service suppliers like Cognizant have a possibility to be the bridge between huge tech and enterprises.
“Our energy lies in creating jobs…we’re constructing campuses, not simply leasing some buildings. If we create (for eg,) 10,000 jobs, that creates an funding of $100-200 million and upstream alternatives, uplifting the economic system,” he stated. Kumar stated that there’s a must create 25 million formal jobs a yr and hit a per capita earnings of $15,000 to $20,000 if it have been to hit the aim of a $30 trillion economic system, because it goals for Viksit Bharat 2047.
Marrying jobs & tech
“That can occur if we create information jobs which combine know-how,” he stated. The Teaneck-headquartered firm had famous in its post-earnings name in October that 30% of its codes written are AI-based.
“I met with over 400 purchasers this yr, and none of them are saying their budgets are going to be decrease. What purchasers are doing is that they know software program will be written by machines, so that they’re determining a technique to do extra for much less,” he stated.
Nevertheless, Kumar insisted that this does not essentially imply lowering tech spending. “What purchasers are doing is taking the financial savings and placing them into constructing agentic capital…what has modified is how we service them as a substitute,” he stated.
This pivot from ‘classical software program’ to agentic AI-led work would require extra human capital to heavy carry it, Kumar added, opposite to the widespread opinion that AI will result in job losses and can tilt the pyramid construction that the $283 billion IT providers sector is constructed on.
Kumar added how the corporate has added 20,000 freshers to the underside of the pyramid this yr, regardless of non-linear income development, helped by equipping its workforce with the related instruments. “In Cognizant’s case, the underside of the pyramid has seen a 37% productiveness carry, whereas the highest has solely 17%,” he added.
On acquisitions, Kumar feels optimistic about its M&A method and its accretive capability.
“The truth is 50% of our money circulate goes into on the lookout for alternatives the place we may fill the gaps and determine new areas (of enterprise). We’re a giant fan of being a platform for providers firms, and we are going to proceed to search for strategic alternatives,” he stated.
On {industry} bellwether TCS’s entry into knowledge centre by way of the $2 billion three way partnership with TPG, he stated that “its an fascinating alternative to bundle providers collectively,” however he didn’t touch upon whether or not Cognizant may even deploy an analogous technique going ahead. Kumar additionally didn’t touch upon the continued law-suit with Infosys over its healthcare platform saying that the matter is subjudice.
The corporate is making ready for its new campus in Visakhapatnam, with a complete estimated funding of ₹1,600 crore and addition of 8000-10,000 jobs.
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