Mr. Anand Mahindra’s address at the 39th AGM of Tech Mahindra
Before I put the resolutions to vote, let me take this opportunity to share a few of my thoughts with you.
At the very outset, let me tackle the elephant in the room — which is the prediction that the rise of Artificial Intelligence will kill IT services in India. Every major technology cycle creates such anxieties. My answer however is clear. the role of IT services will not diminish. It will change, of course. And in many ways, it will become more important.
AI is no longer just a productivity tool at the edge of the enterprise. It is moving to the centre of how businesses design work, serve customers, manage risk and make decisions. But imagining what AI can do that’s just the easy part. Making AI work reliably, securely and responsibly at enterprise scale that is much harder. Most enterprises operate with legacy systems, fragmented data, complex regulations and technology debt. AI can’t simply be placed on top of this complexity. It has to be integrated, governed and shaped around each enterprise’s context. And That is why companies like ours matter: to make AI usable, trusted and valuable inside the enterprise.
Think of this way, AI is like today’s smartphone. The technology is indeed remarkable. But a smartphone only becomes indispensable because of the apps, the connectivity and enterprices that bring it to life. In the AI era, companies like Tech Mahindra provide just that enabling layer — turning a very powerful technology into an intelligent business partner that delivers real value.
I have said recently that while building sovereign models is important, enterprises will increasingly need the ability to work across models. Some models may become more interchangeable over time. What will truly differentiate an enterprise is its own “alpha” as it’s known— which is its data, workflows, judgment and domain knowledge. And Our role at Tech Mahindra is to help preserve that alpha through the platforms, the solutions and workflows that sit above and around the model.
Your company is operating from a position of strength. Let me be very clear, despite a volatile environment, Tech Mahindra has delivered margin expansion over ten consecutive quarters, with deal wins exceeding a billion USD in successive quarters. Gartner has recognized your company as an Emerging Leader in Generative AI Consulting and Implementation Services. Tech Mahindra has also been included in the World Economic Forum’s MINDS second cohort.
Most importantly, your company’s Net Promoter Score was the highest in the industry. To my mind, that reflects the most valuable asset we have: the trust of our clients. That trust will matter even more in the AI era. Clients will need partners who understand that AI transformation is not a technology project alone. It is a business, talent and operating model transformation.
Our view is that the enterprise of tomorrow will not be all-human or all-AI. It will be built on human judgment amplified by AI capability. To bring this vision to life, your company has embarked on Project Helix. Through this programme, Vector Squads will interweave human expertise with AI agents, like two strands of DNA, combining domain knowledge, engineering depth, governance and responsible AI practices around each client’s context.
There is another dimension to this entire transition. Frontier AI is not just a commercial technology. It is increasingly a strategic capability, shaped by trust, regulation, national interest and sovereignty. India cannot be only a consumer of intelligence built elsewhere. It must also be a creator, shaper and trusted deployer of intelligence.
And India has a unique advantage in this respect — it is something that what I have long called denial-driven innovation. The best “can do” spirit often emerges when we are told we cannot do something or we denied a technology. The story of the PARAM supercomputer is a powerful example. Denied access to Cray systems in the 1980s, C-DAC built an indigenous machine in just three years, at a fraction of the cost. Within the decade, India was exporting upercomputers to other countries.
That very same instinct must now be brought to Sovereign AI: not isolation, not dependence, but indigenous capability, trusted collaboration, and the ability to build, adapt and govern critical AI systems on our own terms. In this context, Tech Mahindra’s selection under the India AI Mission is a responsibility that we take very seriously.
This year also marks the 40th anniversary of Tech Mahindra. Over four decades, your company has repeatedly adapted to new technology cycles, client expectations and global realities. The chapter ahead may in fact be the most consequential yet. AI will challenge old models, but it will also create one of the largest opportunities our industry has ever seen which is to help enterprises and nations convert intelligence into trusted impact.
Tech Mahindra is ready for that opportunity. Our ambition is simple: to help our clients thrive in the AI era, and to ensure that India is not left behind. We do so with the wisdom of our past and the ambition of the Ascending Force.
Because The best of Tech Mahindra is still ahead.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
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