Artificial intelligence has become one of the hottest topics these days. Whenever Anthropic or OpenAI does something, it becomes the new gossip in the tech industry. The main reason behind this is that AI companies have the potential to cut the revenue of SaaS giants such as TCS and Infosys. Yet, a few days ago, when Anthropic and OpenAI actually took a direct swing at the SaaS market by forming new service companies, the move is expected to actually end up benefitting the Indian IT industry in a significant way.
What Exactly Did Anthropic and OpenAI Do?
Anthropic has launched a new AI services venture in partnership with major Wall Street firms including Blackstone, Hellman and Friedman, and Goldman Sachs. The new entity will help mid-sized companies integrate Claude AI models directly into their business operations.
The estimated total investment stands at $1.5 billion, with Anthropic, Blackstone and Hellman and Friedman each expected to contribute around $300 million, while Goldman Sachs is likely to invest approximately $150 million.
OpenAI is not far behind. According to Bloomberg, OpenAI is seeking funding for a separate venture called The Development Company, targeting $4 billion from 19 investors at a valuation of $10 billion, with backers including TPG, Brookfield Asset Management, Advent and Bain Capital.
In simple words, both companies are no longer just making AI models and selling access to them. They are now going to sit inside companies, study how they work, and build custom AI solutions for them. That is exactly what Indian IT firms like TCS and Infosys do.
Is This Bad for Indian IT?
It sounds alarming at first. But here is the thing. These AI firms are both partners and competitors. Infosys, for instance, has partnered with both Anthropic and OpenAI, even as it competes with them for enterprise budgets.
Large banks, telecom firms, healthcare companies and manufacturers do not simply plug in an AI model and transform overnight. They need data cleaning, system integration, compliance, cloud migration, security, change management and long-term support. That is where TCS, Infosys and other Indian firms still have strong advantages.
AI companies are good at building models. Indian IT companies are good at getting those models to actually work inside messy, real-world enterprise environments. Those are two different skills, and right now, you need both.
The Real Risk and the Real Opportunity
The biggest risk is not to every IT job. The real risk is to repetitive, low complexity work that clients believe AI can automate. Basic testing, simple coding, L1 support, documentation, ticket triage, report generation and routine maintenance may face pressure first.
TCS, India’s largest IT services company, reported a 2.4 percent decline in annual revenue in constant currency terms for FY26, its first annual decline since listing publicly. That is a warning sign the industry cannot afford to ignore.
But the bigger picture is more nuanced. Partnerships between global AI firms and Indian IT providers could work wonders by combining technological capability with deep enterprise execution experience. The companies that figure out how to work alongside AI rather than against it will likely come out stronger.
The bottom line is simple. OpenAI and Anthropic entering the services space is a wake-up call, not a death sentence. Indian IT has the relationships, the regulatory knowledge, and the enterprise experience that AI companies currently lack. The firms that lean into this shift, upskill their workforce and position themselves as AI-first execution partners have a real opportunity to thrive in this new landscape.
Syed Ziyauddin is a media and international relations enthusiast with a strong academic and professional foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in International Relations (West Asia) from the same institution.
He has work with organizations like ANN Media, TV9 Bharatvarsh, NDTV and Centre for Discourse, Fusion, and Analysis (CDFA) his core interest includes Tech, Auto and global affairs.
Tweets @ZiyaIbnHameed
