If coding becomes automated, then why are we needed at all: Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani answers

Infosys Ltd chairman Nandan Nilekani dismissed fears that automation could make traditional technology services obsolete. Instead, he argued that the shift to AI tools has increased the company’s relevance as it seeks to modernize its customers’ technology to keep pace with AI demands.

“After more than 3 years of the launch of generative AI, we can say with certainty that Infosys is more relevant than ever and has a bright future ahead of us. The shift from predictable to probabilistic machines is as important as the pace of adoption and is reshaping what business requires now,” Nilekani said in his address to shareholders on May 22 as part of the company’s annual report.

His comments come after nearly every other week of new rollouts from AI homegrown firms like Anthropic and OpenAI. Earlier this month, both companies formed partnerships with private equity firms to enter the technology services space.

This has led investors, who have continued to dump IT stocks since the beginning of the year, to further question the importance of the country’s $315 billion IT sector. Shares of Infosys are down more than 28% since the beginning of the year.

Nilekani’s optimism came in response to growing concerns about the importance of IT services companies.

“Given that artificial intelligence is a much larger and more disruptive technology transition than ever before, questions and even doubts are louder and more persistent. Moreover, we are asked the existential question: Why will we be needed if coding becomes automatic?” added Nilekani.

Infosys closed last year with revenues of $20.16 billion, up 4.6% year-on-year. One-third of its increased revenue came from manufacturing companies, which accounted for one-fifth of its business.

Nilekani sees opportunities in the software development lifecycle, adding that solutions need to be tested and validated and IT systems need to be designed for speed, scale and resilience. He said cybersecurity should be a priority and that the company should modernize the IT systems of its major customers to keep up with the pace of AI innovation.

This would require the company’s workforce to prepare and relearn new mental models.

“We are well prepared for this challenge. We will fully prepare our talent for this new era and reallocate the talents freed up by productivity to create new accounts and offerings,” Nilekani said.

Infosys closed last year with 328,594 employees, an increase of 5,016 from the previous year.

Nilekani’s views echoed those of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd chairman N Chandrasekaran.

“As AI scales, fundamental aspects of trust, security and data sovereignty will become non-negotiable. Organizations will need an AI Operating System. This Operating System will be the foundation of infrastructure, data, models, context, agents and governance. Building this requires deep industry expertise, partnerships and a clear understanding of the corporate context,” Chandrasekaran said in his address to shareholders as part of TCS’s FY26 annual report.

Nilekani said that blending new artificial intelligence models with old technology systems will create opportunities.

“While new capabilities bring intelligence, simplified user experience and advanced automation, the highly scalable and reliable transaction systems of old are still very much up to date. This will also create a multitude of opportunities,” said Nilekani.

In fact, the country’s second-largest IT services company has brought all its AI offerings under an umbrella called Infosys Topaz AI Next. The company has included its software products arm EdgeVerve in this AI Next platform. Infosys acquired EdgeVerve for $80 million in 2014.

In fact, it announced that artificial intelligence revenue constituted 5.5% ($5.1 billion, i.e. $280 million) of its third quarter (October-December 2025) revenue. The company has not disclosed AI financials since then.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company expects revenue growth of 1.5-3.5% in constant currency terms in FY27; This is above the 0-3% predicted in April 2025. In the last fiscal year, the company grew at the fastest pace in the last three years.

Chief executive Salil Parekh’s salary increased by 2.4% compared to the previous year ₹82.6 crore ($8.7 million). In comparison, TCS managing director Krithivasan’s salary increased by 6% ₹28.11 crore.