TCS CEO K Krithivasan Outlines AI-First Strategy at Davos 2026, Emphasizes Capability Over Revenue
TCS CEO K Krithivasan outlined the company's AI-first strategy at Davos 2026, emphasizing capability building over immediate revenue gains. The company aims to become the world's largest AI-led services company through five strategic pillars, including internal transformation and ecosystem expansion. Recent acquisitions worth $700.00 million are focused on building capabilities rather than boosting short-term revenue, while the company continues hiring and large-scale reskilling programs to create a future-ready workforce.

*this image is generated using AI for illustrative purposes only.
Tata Consultancy Services is recalibrating its growth strategy as it deepens its focus on artificial intelligence, prioritizing capability building over immediate revenue gains. Speaking at the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, Managing Director and CEO K Krithivasan outlined the company's ambitious vision to become the world's largest AI-led services company.
Strategic Vision and Five Pillars
Tata Consultancy Services has defined its AI transformation strategy around five key pillars, as explained by Krithivasan. The company aims to transform itself internally, revolutionize its services, enhance customer offerings, and broaden its scope within the AI ecosystem. This comprehensive approach includes building capabilities through mergers and acquisitions while expanding into AI data centers to provide end-to-end solutions.
| Strategic Focus | Approach |
|---|---|
| Internal Transformation | Reskilling and workforce development |
| Service Innovation | AI-embedded across all offerings |
| Customer Solutions | Infrastructure to intelligence capabilities |
| Ecosystem Expansion | Strategic acquisitions and partnerships |
| Market Position | World's largest AI-led services company |
The CEO emphasized that recent acquisitions, including a $700.00 million deal and a partnership with TPG, are not intended to immediately boost revenue but to build new capabilities and create long-term value through synergies across the TCS ecosystem.
Acquisition Strategy and Future Plans
Krithivasan confirmed that TCS is "more acquisitive than before" but clarified that inorganic growth is not being pursued as a revenue driver. Instead, the focus remains on building capabilities at speed and scale. The company is evaluating multiple opportunities, though the CEO indicated these would not be announced in rapid succession.
The strategic approach centers on providing comprehensive AI solutions to customers across all layers, from infrastructure and hardware design to model-as-a-service and agentic AI capabilities. This "infrastructure to intelligence" philosophy positions TCS to serve customers across the entire AI spectrum.
Workforce Strategy and AI Integration
Addressing concerns about AI's impact on employment, Krithivasan reiterated that AI transformation is not about job reduction but creating a future-ready workforce. The company continues active hiring from colleges and the market while providing extensive support for associate reskilling and learning new technologies.
| Workforce Initiative | Details |
|---|---|
| Hackathon Participation | 300,000 associates over four weeks |
| Hiring Strategy | Continued recruitment from colleges and market |
| Reskilling Programs | Large-scale training in new technologies |
| Workforce Evolution | Some role changes with support provided |
While acknowledging that some roles may evolve and selective workforce adjustments have occurred, the overall strategy emphasizes enhancement of productivity and delivery capabilities rather than workforce reduction.
AI Revenue Reporting and Market Position
TCS has established specific guardrails for reporting AI revenue, maintaining discipline in classification despite AI becoming embedded across all services. The company reported AI revenue for the first time last quarter and plans to continue this practice with clear definitions of what constitutes AI-driven business.
Krithivasan acknowledged that while AI elements exist in traditional services like application development and business process outsourcing, TCS focuses on projects that cannot be completed without AI, such as mainframe-to-modern technology migrations and AI-reimagined business processes.
Growth Outlook and Market Confidence
Despite near-term growth challenges and headcount adjustments, TCS leadership expressed confidence in the company's market position, order pipeline, and competitive standing. The CEO emphasized that the company is not losing market share and continues winning deals in the marketplace.
While declining to provide specific outcome targets, Krithivasan indicated that significant progress toward becoming the world's largest AI-led services company would be visible within a year. The success will be measured through a composite metric including workforce capabilities, revenue growth, strategic partnerships, and analyst positioning.
Historical Stock Returns for Tata Consultancy Services
| 1 Day | 5 Days | 1 Month | 6 Months | 1 Year | 5 Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1.94% | -4.24% | -5.48% | -2.75% | -23.92% | -4.86% |













































