COO Aarthi Subramanian says TCS is rebooting to prepare for an AI-led future

TCS Resets Strategy to Become AI-Led Company, Focuses on Large-Scale AI Adoption

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has started a major internal and market-facing transformation to prepare for an AI-driven future, as the global IT services industry undergoes its biggest technology shift yet. The company says AI adoption is now moving beyond pilot projects to large-scale deployments directly linked to business returns.

Aarthi Subramanian, executive director, president and chief operating officer of TCS, said that AI represents a deeper structural change than any previous technology cycle, with almost every client discussion now centred on artificial intelligence. She added that CEO K Krithivasan is leading the vision to make TCS the world’s largest AI-led technology services company.

Tata Sons reappointed Subramanian as COO in April 2025 as TCS accelerates its pivot towards AI. Over the past two years, the company has faced modest growth due to geopolitical uncertainty and AI-driven disruption, even as it crossed $30 billion in revenue in FY25.

In the last six months, TCS has taken several major steps, including:

• Laying off about 2% of its workforce (around 12,000 employees)

• Entering the data centre business

• Completing its first acquisition in nearly a decade

The company has also strengthened its leadership team by appointing Amit Kapoor as chief AI and services transformation officer, reporting to Subramanian, to drive large-scale AI delivery.

TCS has introduced a five-level autonomy framework across services to help clients move from basic automation to AI-driven autonomous operations. This framework is being applied across application development, testing, infrastructure, ERP and business processes.

While some roles are being phased out due to automation, Subramanian said TCS continues to hire overall. The company added around 19,000 net employees in the latest quarter, with layoffs mainly affecting mid- and senior-level roles that no longer match future skill needs. She said exits were handled with empathy and respect.

To prepare its workforce for AI, TCS has launched an internal programme called “TCS to the Power of AI”, aimed at making all its 600,000+ employees AI practitioners. The company has expanded access to AI models, coding assistants and cloud tools. It also conducted what it called the world’s largest AI hackathon, with 280,000 employees participating and over 500,000 ideas submitted.

TCS now has around 180,000 employees with advanced AI skills, more than double last year. It has also introduced weekly “AI Fridays” at its centres, where cross-functional teams work on rapid solution-building.

Internally, TCS is redesigning its own IT, HR, finance, procurement, learning and legal functions using AI-first systems to improve productivity and returns. Subramanian said the company wants to become a live example of the AI-driven transformation it offers clients.

To speed up customer adoption, TCS has formalised a three-step engagement model — innovate with AI, build with AI, and scale with AI — combining workshops, rapid prototypes and full-scale deployments.

The company is positioning itself as an end-to-end AI player covering infrastructure, platforms and intelligent agents, supported by partnerships with hyperscalers, software firms and AI-native companies, along with selective acquisitions.

“Our play is infrastructure to intelligence,” Subramanian said, adding that this is the moment for TCS to “fire up all cylinders.”