BENGALURU: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) chairman N Chandrasekaran said the company could have as many AI agents as human employees over the next three years, as the country's largest IT services company expands its artificial intelligence business.
"At TCS, the transformation is already well underway. In the last quarter of fiscal 2026, TCS had an annualised AI revenues of US$2.4 billion, which is growing at a CAGR of 22.4%," Chandrasekaran, who is also the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group companies, said during the company’s 31st Annual General Meeting.
"I predict that over the next 3 years, TCS will have as many AI agent as human employees," he said adding that TCS views AI as an opportunity for enterprise IT rather than a threat, despite concerns that AI systems could reduce the need for human involvement in software development and technology operations.
"Far from being a mortal threat, AI is the most significant opportunity yet for enterprise IT," Chandrasekaran said.
According to him, the global enterprise IT industry, currently valued at around $1.6 trillion, is expected to reach $3 trillion over the next decade as AI expands the use of technology across industries.
"The global enterprise IT industry, currently worth around $1.6 trillion, is forecast to hit $3 trillion within the next decade, effectively doubling," he said.
Chandrasekaran said businesses are increasing technology spending because of AI and that organisations which previously did not rely on IT services are now seeking such expertise.
"Our market is widening as organisations once unserved by IT services require our expertise for the first time," he said.
He outlined five areas where TCS sees opportunities, including upgrading legacy technology systems, redesigning business processes using AI, managing AI systems inside organisations, building sovereign AI infrastructure and connecting AI with physical assets.
On managing AI systems, Chandrasekaran said overseeing AI agents could become a source of recurring business for technology services firms.
"If maintaining applications was the defining annuity of the last era, governing intelligence will be the defining annuity of the next," he said.
He said TCS has built a governance platform for a global insurer to oversee hundreds of AI agents and has launched sovereign AI infrastructure in India and Europe to meet requirements related to data sovereignty, security and compliance.
Chandrasekaran also said TCS had deployed an agentic and physical AI system for a global agribusiness using a four-legged robot equipped with cameras and sensors to inspect hazardous warehouse environments.
The chairman said established IT services firms have an advantage because of their long-standing relationships with customers and their experience in managing complex systems.
"In enterprise AI, the scarcest resource will not be the model. It will be context and trust," he said.
