TCS To Build Team Of Up To 8,900 AI Deployment Engineers; Eyes Acquisitions In AI And Cybersecurity

Tata Consultancy Services is building a team of up to 8,900 forward-deployed engineers and actively looking at AI acquisitions, betting that artificial intelligence will generate new business for the company rather than eat into its outsourcing model, two TCS executives told Reuters. The move comes months after the IT giant cut around 20,000 jobs, and at a time when investors remain worried about AI's impact on India's $315 billion IT services industry.

TCS CEO on the scale of the plan

TCS CEO K Krithivasan said the company aims to convert between 1 percent and 1.5 percent of its associate base into what it calls forward-deployed engineers, or FDEs. Based on TCS's headcount of 593,798 employees as of June 30, that works out to roughly 5,900 to 8,900 employees. Krithivasan did not specify whether TCS would hire these engineers externally or retrain its existing workforce.

What forward-deployed engineers actually do

Forward-deployed engineers work directly with client organisations to speed up AI adoption and customise AI tools to a company's specific systems and workflows. For instance, if a bank wants to deploy AI to improve customer service, an FDE would study its existing software, data and operating processes before integrating an AI model into that environment. Demand for the role has grown sharply, with OpenAI and Anthropic both setting up dedicated AI services arms built around forward deployment, and Reuters reported that TCS's plan puts it in direct competition with OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft for this talent.

Betting against the 'AI eats outsourcing' thesis

Krithivasan rejected the idea that AI would weaken the outsourcing business model. He said deep familiarity with a client's environment, not cost arbitrage, is what allows TCS to stand apart, describing it as a function of the talent pool the company has built over the years. According to Reuters, he added that companies now use multiple AI models and need partners like TCS to connect those models with existing systems and manage data flows between them.

Acquisitions on the table after years of organic growth

Alongside the FDE build-out, TCS is evaluating acquisitions in AI, data security and cybersecurity, a shift for a company that had largely avoided acquisitions in favour of organic growth until late 2025. TCS chief financial officer Samir Seksaria told Reuters the company is looking for opportunities that could enhance its strategic positioning. Seksaria said TCS spends about $1 billion annually on talent development and on making AI more accessible internally, with a focus on training and targeted hiring in AI-native roles.

AI revenue growth has slowed even as the bet widens

Despite the expansion plans, TCS's own numbers show a bumpy road ahead. The company's annualised AI revenue growth slowed to 13 per cent in the first quarter, down from 28 per cent in the previous quarter, according to Reuters. Krithivasan said he wants the AI business to grow around 25 per cent quarter-on-quarter over the long term but does not expect that growth to be linear.

Published on: Monday, July 13, 2026, 10:29 AM IST