Indian IT mega deals rise on AI push

India’s top offshoring firms just reported a prolific quarter of billion-dollar contracts, but that also signalled a stark new reality for the $283-billion sector: an intensifying race among the country’s largest software services providers to grab each other's share.

- Jas Bardia

The surge in such deals followed a lull in 2024, and uncertainty over US tariffs since Feb and geopolitical tensions in 2025.

(MINT)

In October-December, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Infosys reported three mega deals combined, the most in nine quarters, according to their earnings filings. These involve deploying artificial intelligence tools to transform clients’ legacy IT infrastructure.

Yet, Fortune companies are reducing the number of IT vendors they work with to reduce their long-term software services costs, analysts say.

“It signals a clear shift back toward platform scale transformation deals, not a return to labour-heavy outsourcing,” said Phil Fersht, chief executive of HFS Research. “Large enterprises are consolidating vendors and committing to multiyear programs that combine technology modernization, AI enablement, and operating model change.”

The spike in large contracts points to how Alis reshaping the software services sector even as homegrown offshorers grapple with low demand amid global trade uncertainty and stricter visa scrutiny in the US, their largest market.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd secured a mega deal from a North American financial institution in the December quarter, the company said during its post-earnings analyst call. The company didn’t disclose the client’s name.