Indian IT services companies are moving fast enough on artificial intelligence (AI) and are not lagging behind global peers, Rishad Premji, executive chairman of Wipro, said in a Moneycontrol report from
the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
Speaking to Moneycontrol on January 21, Premji said Indian IT firms are adapting well as client discussions move from experimentation to real AI deployments.
“The broader question of whether Indian IT is moving fast enough… my submission is yes,” he told Moneycontrol. “I think we are moving fast enough.”
The comments were made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, which brought together nearly 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries, including political leaders and CEOs, according to the Moneycontrol report. The event concludes on January 23.
AI seen as opportunity, not a threat
As per Moneycontrol, Premji said large IT services firms are positioning AI as a growth driver rather than a threat to their traditional business models. He noted that AI can open up new opportunities across advisory, data, AI models, and large-scale delivery.
“Indian IT is clever. It realises the models are pivoting and they want to participate,” Premji said, as quoted by Moneycontrol. He added that companies are also learning to disrupt themselves by delivering work in more productive and impactful ways.
Jobs and revenue concerns addressed
Responding to concerns around job losses and revenue pressure due to AI, Premji told Moneycontrol that AI-driven change does not automatically mean fewer people or lower revenues.
“It just means a redistribution of what you’re doing,” he said, suggesting that roles and work profiles will evolve rather than disappear.
From pilots to production, but still early
According to the Moneycontrol report, Premji said enterprises are slowly moving beyond proof-of-concept projects, with AI increasingly being deployed in real production environments.
“The mindset has moved from pilotisation to adopting AI on a production basis,” he said.
However, Premji also cautioned that AI adoption is still at an early stage for many companies. For now, usage is largely limited to simpler, low-end and functional tasks, even as AI gradually spreads deeper into core business processes.
