AI companies want to justify billions spent on infra: LTM growth chief

Mission-critical ops remain under human oversight, says growth chief Krishnan Iyer

Debates are intensifying over whether artificial intelligence (AI) will render global information technology (IT) services companies obsolete. Krishnan Iyer, chief growth officer of rebranded LTM (formerly LTIMindtree), says the narrative is shaped as much by capital pressures as by technological reality.

 

Iyer argues that large foundation model companies are under pressure to justify the billions invested in AI infrastructure and model development and are therefore promoting the idea that services firms will become redundant. “The other side has to show a return on the billions invested in AI infrastructure and models, with no meaningful return on investment so far. So they are under pressure to demonstrate that value,” Iyer said in an interview with Business Standard on the sidelines of the 34th Nasscom Technology & Leadership Forum 2026. 

His remarks come as the $3 trillion global IT services industry — including India’s $300 billion-plus services sector — faces growing questions about the long-term impact of generative AI (GenAI) on revenue growth, headcount models, and margins. 

While dismissing claims of imminent irrelevance, Iyer said both clients and IT services firms remain bullish on AI, albeit cautiously. “Both our customers and we are optimistic about the technology. But we are careful when deploying it in enterprise environments to avoid pitfalls,” he said.

 

The reason, he explained, lies in the nature of AI systems themselves. “Most AI systems today are probabilistic, not deterministic. The gap between probabilistic and deterministic outcomes remains wide. I believe that gap will narrow over the next three to four years.”

 

Until that happens, enterprises are unlikely to hand over mission-critical processes entirely to AI systems without layered oversight and validation — a space where IT services firms continue to play a crucial role.

 

“With GenAI, you will be able to do more with less. If you needed 20,000 people earlier, you may need 5,000 going forward,” he said.

 

However, he argued that productivity gains do not necessarily mean shrinking opportunity. “If you can deliver more efficiently, it also means more work can come your way.”

 

So far, LTM has not felt the need to counter the dominant narrative aggressively. “We are adopting AI, but we want to ensure outcomes are delivered. As the gap between probabilistic and deterministic systems narrows, confidence will grow.”

 

“The markets need to watch how IT services companies perform over the next few quarters. If revenue and margins don’t grow, then you have every right to say AI is hurting us.”

 

The comments come amid heightened volatility in IT stocks globally, with investors recalibrating growth expectations in light of rapid advances in foundation models and AI-assisted coding tools.