TCS Chairman Says AI Agents Will Match Human Headcount By Next Three Years

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will deploy as many artificial intelligence (AI) agents as it has human employees within three years, Chairman N Chandrasekaran told shareholders at the company's 31st annual general meeting on Tuesday.

The company currently employs around half a million people. An equal number of AI agents will work alongside them, he said, describing that combination as the future TCS is building toward.

Hiring Will Slow

Chandrasekaran also said for the first time that TCS will hire less than in previous years. AI agents will absorb portions of work currently handled by humans. The broader information technology (IT) sector is already reflecting this. The industry is expected to add a net 135,000 people this fiscal year, a rise of just 2.3% over FY26.

He pushed back on the idea that this is a permanent contraction. The slowdown is a transition phase, he said. Once it completes, the AI-driven world will generate new categories of work and talent requirements that do not exist today.

The AI Revenue Numbers

• Q2FY26 annualised AI revenue: $1.5 billion.

• Q3FY26: $1.8 billion.

• Q4FY26: $2.3 to $2.4 billion.

• Compound quarterly growth rate: Approximately 22%.

• Target: 100% year-on-year growth in AI revenue.

By 2028 to 2030, Chandrasekaran said virtually all of TCS's revenue will carry an AI component. He described AI as the single biggest growth opportunity in the company's history.

What TCS Is Building

Beyond revenue, TCS is investing across proprietary AI assets, industry-specific AI agents, integration layers for legacy IT systems, data centre infrastructure in India and a sovereign cloud platform.

Physical AI is the next frontier in Chandrasekaran's view, with intelligent systems moving into factories, warehouses and supply chains. TCS has already deployed a four-legged robot with cameras and sensors to patrol hazardous warehouse environments for a global agribusiness client.

Enterprises cannot simply be handed AI technology, he argued. They need help organising decades of data and connecting it to IT systems never designed for AI. That context and trust, built over years of client relationships, is where established firms hold the edge.

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On Valuation And Growth

On TCS's valuation decline, Chandrasekaran said IT services, software and software-as-a-service companies globally have fallen 35 to 45% as markets question AI's relationship with traditional technology businesses.

The focus, he said, is double-digit year-on-year growth. If quarterly AI revenue of $2.3 billion doubles or triples, the overall growth rate will follow.

Source:

Business Standard