CEO: Cognizant enters the "breakaway" AI-led growth phase

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S said that growth in the technology sector will create more jobs in India, not reduce them. Kumar, who is based in the US, is currently visiting India and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. He called the meeting “awe-inspiring” and said they discussed AI-era skills, lifelong learning, and ways to make India a global technology hub.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister suggested building “plug-and-play” infrastructure for Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India. Kumar said this could include IT parks with malls and other facilities, especially around railway infrastructure. The goal, he said, is to make India “the office of the world.”

Kumar said Cognizant is entering an AI-led growth phase, moving away from the traditional model where revenue depends mainly on the number of engineers deployed. Clients are now focusing on generative and agentic AI to do more work with fewer resources. He expects technology demand to improve in 2026 as adoption of agentic AI increases.

Cognizant is also exploring a secondary stock market listing in India, which could attract new investors. The company reported $19.7 billion in revenue in 2024, slightly ahead of Infosys.

While big tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon are investing heavily in India, Kumar said service firms like Cognizant can act as a bridge between big tech and enterprises. He stressed that job creation remains Cognizant’s strength, noting that building large campuses leads to major investments and boosts the wider economy.

Kumar said India needs to create 25 million formal jobs every year and raise per capita income to $15,000–$20,000 to achieve its goal of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047. He believes this is possible by creating knowledge-based, technology-driven jobs.

Despite concerns that AI could reduce jobs, Kumar said AI will actually increase demand for skilled workers. Cognizant added 20,000 freshers this year, and AI tools have significantly improved productivity, especially at junior levels.

He also said the company remains open to strategic acquisitions, using about half of its cash flow to explore new business opportunities. However, he declined to comment on the legal dispute with Infosys or whether Cognizant will follow TCS into the data centre business.

Cognizant is also preparing a new campus in Visakhapatnam, with an investment of ₹1,600 crore, expected to create 8,000–10,000 jobs.