Global companies are increasingly moving more critical work to their India-based hubs as artificial intelligence improves productivity and reduces dependence on outsourcing partners. The trend reflects a major shift in how multinational firms are using their India operations beyond traditional support functions.
Companies are now assigning core responsibilities such as engineering, product development, analytics and software operations to their India teams. Industry executives shared that AI is helping businesses manage more work internally without significantly increasing workforce size.
At Daimler Truck’s Bengaluru innovation centre, the company is bringing development of key software systems and performance-focused algorithms in-house. The company said it wants tighter control over areas that provide a “competitive” advantage, especially technology linked to vehicle safety and performance.
Retail giant Target, which employs more than 5,000 people in India, also said most of its technology work is already managed internally, with external vendors mainly used for added flexibility.
IBM India stated that automation and AI tools are helping the company achieve higher productivity using existing teams. Executives noted that AI is changing how global work is distributed and helping India operations move further up the value chain.
Healthcare company Novo Nordisk said its Bengaluru centre now plays a larger role in supporting global drug launches and business operations. Workday also highlighted that its India teams are moving from fragmented tasks to complete product ownership.
The shift is changing the structure of India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs), which were initially created mainly for cost-saving purposes. Companies are now investing more in internal talent and strategic capabilities rather than depending heavily on outsourcing firms.
Executives also noted that external vendors will still remain important for specialised skills and project-based work, but AI is enabling companies to reduce routine outsourcing requirements.
India continues to strengthen its position as a major global technology and innovation hub as multinational companies expand AI-led operations across engineering, analytics and digital transformation functions.
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