Chandrasekaran says AI agents may equal workforce in future at TCS

N ChandrasekaranTata Consultancy Services (TCS) is rapidly expanding its artificial intelligence business, with AI-related revenue nearing an annualised run rate of $2.5 billion, Chairman N Chandrasekaran said at the company’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, Moneycontrol reported.Chandrasekaran said TCS is developing a large number of AI agents and expects their role to grow significantly in the coming years.“The time is not far when TCS will have an equal number of AI agents and human employees,” he said.Highlighting the momentum in the company’s AI business, Chandrasekaran noted that TCS’s AI revenue has grown consistently over the last four quarters, with compound quarterly growth of 22 per cent.

In the most recent quarter, AI revenue reached an annualised level of nearly $2.5 billion.Growth driver or a threat?Addressing concerns around AI’s impact on the IT services sector, Chandrasekaran said the technology should be viewed as a major growth driver rather than a threat.

He argued that the industry’s expertise in deploying complex technologies across large enterprises remains highly relevant in the AI era.Drawing comparisons with previous technological disruptions, he said AI-driven reductions in the cost of intelligence are likely to accelerate technology adoption across industries and increase demand for digital transformation initiatives.

As enterprises embed AI into business processes, decision-making and customer interactions, spending on technology services is expected to rise, creating new growth opportunities for firms such as TCS.Chandrasekaran said AI is enabling companies to fundamentally redesign operations across areas, including supply chains and customer engagement.

He cited TCS’s work with a global bank, where the company has developed an AI platform capable of managing the entire customer lifecycle.He also pointed to emerging opportunities in managing AI systems at scale.

As AI agents become more autonomous and adaptive, enterprises will increasingly require support in areas such as governance, compliance, monitoring, training and cost optimisation, he said.The TCS Chairman further highlighted growing demand for sovereign AI infrastructure, particularly among governments and regulated industries seeking greater control over data security and compliance.

He said TCS has already launched sovereign AI infrastructure offerings in India and Europe to address these requirements while helping clients integrate AI into their existing technology environments.Looking ahead, Chandrasekaran said AI is significantly expanding the addressable market for IT services and is expected to become a key driver of growth for both TCS and the broader technology industry.