- Wipro's AI initiatives boosted productivity equal to 20,000 employee outputs
- Over 100,000 Wipro employees received advanced AI training and certifications
- India's IT firms, including TCS and Infosys, are hiring forward-deployed AI engineers
Wipro's artificial intelligence initiatives have increased productivity equivalent to the output of 20,000 employees, with workers being redeployed within the company, its Chief Technology Officer Sandhya Arun said, reported Reuters.
The comments come at a time when India's $315 billion software services industry is grappling with the adoption of AI, which is reshaping hiring, software development and client contracts.
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Wipro, which had about 243,000 employees in June, is shifting towards what Arun described as a "human-AI operating model". More than 100,000 employees have received advanced AI-related training and certifications, she said in an interview.
"It could be the same engineer managing a bunch of agents, deployed on other projects or being trained for some other role. It doesn't necessarily mean person-to-person replacement by an agent," she said, as reported by Reuters.
AI Reshapes IT Hiring
The adoption of AI is also influencing workforce plans across India's major IT companies.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country's largest software services exporter, said in June that IT companies would slow hiring as it moves towards having an equal number of employees and AI agents in its workforce.
TCS plans to build a team of up to 8,900 forward-deployed engineers, while Infosys plans to have about 6,000 over the next few years. These engineers work with clients to accelerate AI adoption.
Wipro is also expanding its pool of forward-deployed engineers. Arun did not disclose a specific target but said Wipro's forward-deployed workforce would likely be in line with its peers.
However, she cautioned against focusing too heavily on the forward-deployed engineer role. According to Arun, the broader challenge is ensuring that engineers across the organisation develop the skills needed to work effectively with AI systems.
Wipro's AI Focus Shifts From Productivity To Outcomes
Arun said companies should also change how they measure the impact of AI.
"The shift has to be from productivity to outcomes," she said, arguing that AI should be evaluated on whether it improves customer experience, creates new revenue opportunities and helps deliver business goals.
Wipro is currently the only company among India's top four IT firms that does not disclose its AI revenue.
The company remains in the earlier, cost-absorbing phase of AI monetisation compared with some of its peers, according to Manoj Chandra Jha, principal analyst at Nord-IQ Research.
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Jha said the real test would be whether Wipro's AI deals eventually translate into revenue growth and a recovery in margins.
He added that Wipro's investment in AI-related training and ecosystem partnerships is comparable with peers such as TCS, Infosys and HCLTech, although the company trails them in terms of commercialisation maturity.
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