TCS to invest in AI capabilities, says chairman N Chandrasekaran

N Chandrasekaran

Global transitions in the areas of energy, supply chains and artificial intelligence will require significant investments in technology and innovation and offer huge growth opportunities for IT companies, Tata Consultancy Services chairman N Chandrasekaran said.

Advancements have made AI transition a central focus, and the impact of AI and machine learning “will be very profound,” he said in a letter to shareholders.

Chandrasekaran said TCS is significantly investing in building AI capabilities, which include products and platforms that are AI-powered. According to TCS, technologies such as 5G, IoT, generative AI, and virtual reality/metaverse are also gaining attention and are likely to attract investments in the short to medium term.

"Majority of the businesses are still adopting predictive AI and are on the journey of capturing large volumes of data, harnessing the power of cloud and IoT,” he said. “Leveraging generative AI would further require technology innovation and investments.”

Predictive analytics refers to the analysis of data to forecast future events or trends. Generative AI are interfaces such as ChatGPT that can be used to create new content.

Supply chains, energy

The TCS chairman noted that the geopolitical situation is altering global supply chains and companies are rebalancing them for resilience and efficiency.

“New global supply chain ecosystems are being created with India playing an important role. This is being led by significant capital investments in technology to set-up ‘digital-first’ manufacturing and supply chain operations as well as to build ecosystem integration with partners,” he said.

On energy transition, he said there are many innovations across products, services, manufacturing, and delivery, and new business models are emerging.

“This requires investments in technology and innovation including electric mobility, renewable power, hydrogen and sustainable fuel,” he said. “Across the facets of this transition, investments in IT and digital technology will be an important enabler for businesses.”

TCS has thrived despite global uncertainty for IT companies over the past few months, Chandrasekaran said.

TCS has done well “in a volatile global environment in the year gone by,” he said in the letter to shareholders. In FY 2023, the company delivered revenue of Rs 225,458 crore, a growth of 17.6 percent.

“This growth has come at an industry-leading operating margin of 24.1 percent,” he said.

The company closed the year with an order book of $34.1 billion.

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New leadership

Chandrasekaran paid tribute to outgoing CEO Rajesh Gopinathan, who will stay on till September 16 as his successor K Krithivasan takes over.

"I would like to thank Rajesh Gopinathan for his contribution during his tenure as CEO & MD and I wish him the very best for the future. I also take this opportunity to wish K Krithivasan the very best in his new role as CEO & MD," he said.