Here is what TCS Chairman N Chandrasekaran said about investing in AI

India's largest IT services company is significantly investing in building AI capabilities, said the TCS chairman

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services company, is significantly investing in building artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, including AI-powered products and platforms, said TCS chairman N Chandrasekaran.

"The impact of AI and machine learning is going to be profound. There is a transition already underway from predictive AI to generative AI. Majority of the businesses are still adopting predictive AI and are on the journey of capturing large volume of data, harnessing the power of cloud and IoT. There are varying levels of adoption in companies across sectors. Leveraging generative AI would further require technology innovation and investments," Chandrasekaran told shareholders in its latest annual report for 2022-23.   

With the growing popularity of ChatGPT-like AI tools, IT services companies, in general, have been making efforts to up their game in AI and diverting more and more resources towards AI-related work.  

Chandrasekaran said that building talent for the future is another important area that companies need to focus on. "The energy, supply chain and AI transitions are going to require companies to reskill/upskill existing talent base, hire and integrate new talent and invest in research. Our technology strengths make us well-placed to respond to the global demand and scale up our talent base."

As the future of work is evolving, enterprises globally are also assessing their approach to talent, Chandrasekaran said. "Today, companies can tap into talent anywhere and leaders need to learn how to harness the global talent pool effectively. Technology and tools are facilitating collaboration and enabling virtual and hybrid models of work. Harnessing this talent will need an approach that leverages technologies like AI and cloud to enable effective employee engagement and collaboration," he added.

Over the last few years, Chandrasekaran said that TCS has leveraged partnerships to design and orchestrate a completely indigenous software-defined 4G/5G network stack. "5G technologies along with IoT, edge and AI will enable new digital transformation opportunities across industries, both industrial and consumer. We will also invest in research areas important for the future, in collaboration with our global academic partners and start-up ecosystem," he said.