TCS alone among peers to chart data centre AI path

IT major's $6.5bn plan entails building IGW AI data centre in its biggest pivot since listing

- Jas Bardia

TCS will partner with other companies to finance the data centre project through a mix of debt and equity.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) is the lone ranger among the top five in the information technology (IT) services industry charting a separate artificial intelligence (AI) strategy with its $6.5-billion push to build and manage data centres.

The other four are integrating their AI approaches with their existing software services business models. TCS's move has divided analysts, who have highlighted concerns about Al eating into revenues of homegrown software services companies amid existing tensions surrounding macroeconomic uncertainties.

On 9 October, TCS, India’s largest IT outsourcer, said the firm intends to build a 1 gigawatt AI data centre, marking its biggest pivot since going public in August 2004.

This is in contrast with homegrown peers Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Wipro Ltd, and Tech Mahindra Ltd sticking to their existing software services models of embedding AI into their IT offerings.

Most of these found a special moat. While HCL is investing in IP-led solutions, Infosys is doubling down on enterprise AI, whereas Tech Mahindra is focusing on building sovereign Al models.