'GCCs no longer competitors, they're key clients for Infosys': Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani

BENGALURU: Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani believes global capability centres (GCCs) are no longer competitors but key clients in artificial intelligence. He feels GCCs have transformed from mere cost-saving centres into innovation hubs.

"Both AI and GCCs are new waves of growth and not a threat. The current wave of GCCs is not about cost arbitrage, it's about innovation arbitrage," Nilekani said at the company's 44th annual general meeting (AGM) held virtually on Wednesday."There are quite a few companies setting up AI/ML centres as GCCs, and we are helping many of them in this regard. This means that GCCs are no longer competitors, they're critical clients for us on AI," he added.Infosys recently expanded its capabilities with a full-fledged GCC practice and appointed Deval Shah, the former MD of Danske IT and Support Services India, as its leader. In an internal note to employees, Infosys said that as part of Project Altius, one of its key growth priorities is to win more business from GCCs.Responding to a question on AI's impact on the workforce, Nilekani said Infosys, as a digital-native firm, sees AI driving cultural and operational shifts across work, workplace, and workforce.

"As of today, we have over 2,75,000 employees who are trained in AI at different levels of proficiency. Over 20,000 of our employees are using GitHub for coding. We are also investing in adding more AI builders and AI masters.

"Despite macroeconomic challenges, Nilekani said he is confident of Infosys' positioning both on cost takeout deals and opportunities in discretionary spending.Nilekani also said supply chains will continue to shift as tariffs become another form of arbitrage. With trade rules emerging as dominant forces, there is a need to accelerate supply chain diversification, Nilekani insisted.