In an interview with CNBC-TV18 at the forum, Uniphore CEO and co-founder Umesh Sachdeva noted that discussions surrounding AI at Davos this year are focused more on implementation than on piloting. He remarked that companies are no longer experimenting with AI in isolated environments; they are incorporating it into fundamental operations, thereby generating sustained demand for IT services.
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Sachdeva mentioned that Indian IT companies have largely scaled up in AI adoption and are now well-positioned to capitalize on increasing enterprise demand. He indicated that the appetite for AI agents and smaller language models, implemented securely and governed properly, remains robust across sectors. The pivotal change is a shift from proof-of-concept projects to a production-oriented mindset that directly bolsters IT services growth.
He further explained that Indian IT firms are increasingly embracing asset-led delivery models centered around industry-specific solutions, pre-trained models, and pre-built AI agents. This strategy enables organizations to provide outcome-based services rather than traditional manpower-led engagements, firmly placing them within the evolving landscape of AI-driven services.
Tech Mahindra Managing Director and CEO Mohit Joshi shared with CNBC-TV18 that client sentiment regarding technology spending has gradually improved, although he warned against expecting a sharp recovery. He stated that enterprises have come to understand that AI is not a standalone solution and that modernizing and simplifying data processes are critical for extracting value from AI investments. This awareness is anticipated to rejuvenate discretionary spending associated with AI-led initiatives.
Joshi also highlighted that the current practice of reporting AI-related revenue does not fully capture value creation. Tech Mahindra is developing a clearer and more transparent framework to illustrate how AI is integrated into deals and how it affects deal economics, aiding both investors and clients in better evaluating AI’s role in business strategy.
HCL Technologies Managing Director and CEO C Vijayakumar emphasized that AI signifies a significant turning point for the industry and that the company is proactively evolving its services without fearing potential revenue erosion or cannibalization. He pointed to emerging opportunities connected to substantial technology capital expenditures, including data centers, GPU infrastructure, professional services, and managed services.
Vijayakumar stated that such initiatives necessitate extensive planning and execution support, creating new revenue channels for IT services companies. He noted that client demand is increasingly geared towards enhancing efficiency throughout the entire software development lifecycle, from requirements gathering and coding to testing, deployment, and maintenance.
Central to HCLTech’s AI strategy is what Vijayakumar refers to as the “AI factory” – a comprehensive services opportunity arising from the extensive capital expenditure cycle currently underway in global technology.
In addition to AI factories, HCLTech is also making significant investments in physical AI, an emerging domain that extends AI capabilities beyond software into physical realities.
Physical AI merges robotics, vision systems, and AI-enhanced workflows to empower machines to perceive, interpret, and respond to real-world environments—covering applications such as warehouse automation, port management, and industrial operations.
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“Analysts project that physical AI could become a trillion-dollar industry by 2030,” Vijayakumar stated. “From a service standpoint, this too could represent another billion-dollar opportunity for us.”
Overall, these discussions indicate that enterprises are surpassing the initial use of AI solely for process optimization and cost reduction. They are increasingly positioning AI as a catalyst for innovation, revenue enhancement, and long-term transformation, marking the next phase of enterprise AI adoption as reflected in the dialogues at Davos.
