AI will not replace companies like ours, says Nandan Nilekani at Infosys AGM

At the company’s 45th Annual General Meeting, Infosys Chairman and Co-Founder Nandan Nilekani, while addressing shareholders, acknowledged the existential question being raised about the relevance of IT services and consulting companies in the AI era. With the industry going through a major technology transition, “Given that AI is a much larger and disruptive technology transition than ever before, the questions are louder, and the doubts are more insistent. Moreover, the existential question that is asked of us is, if coding becomes automated, then why are we needed at all?” he said during his address.

Brushing aside concerns over the industry’s relevance, Nilekani reiterated that enterprise context remains paramount in AI deployment. For enterprises, where AI solutions must integrate with existing investments, data governance, security, and software architecture resilience remain paramount. “The AI deployment gap in our large enterprise clients is real and closing that gap is where the work is. AI will not replace companies like ours. It will amplify those who move with purpose and adapt with speed,” he said.

At a time when the BSE IT index has fallen more than 26% year-to-date (YTD), with Infosys stock mirroring the trend and declining 36% YTD, Nilekani had earlier, at the company’s Investor Day in February, described AI not as an opportunity risk but as an execution risk. Highlighting the opportunity side at the AGM, Nilekani pointed to legacy modernisation and accelerated efforts to retire technical debt accumulated over decades. He also underscored the growing preference among enterprises for building software solutions rather than buying them off the shelf.

“All this creates even larger opportunities for us. The defining opportunity lies in integrating intelligent AI systems with mission-critical enterprise platforms. The greatest value will come from combining the world of models and agents with traditional transaction systems that continue to underpin enterprise operations. That convergence is where the next wave of opportunities will emerge,” Nilekani added.

Shareholders who were given an opportunity to speak at the AGM expressed concerns not only over the company’s stock performance and the limited impact of buybacks on investor sentiment, but also sought clarity from the board on the continuation of CEO and MD Salil Parekh and Infosys’ investment roadmap to stay ahead in the AI age.

Replying to the shareholders’ questions, Parekh said, "In terms of outlook, we expect there will be an acceleration of growth of financial services, in energy, utilities, and resources services grouping. Those verticals will see acceleration in FY27,” adding that the margins will improve going further on the back of AI. On share prices, CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka said while the company will not be able to comment, but "the recently concluded tender offer buyback of ₹18,000 crore has resulted in EPS accretion for our shareholders and increasing return on equity while returning cash as per our capital allocation policy.”