Bessemer Venture Partners Unveils AI Services Roadmap - Projects IT Sector to Reach $400B by 2030

Bessemer Venture Partners revealed an AI services roadmap today - their thesis on how AI native companies will disrupt India’s $264 billion IT services sector.

India’s IT services exports form the backbone of global technology and is a powerhouse driving digital transformation worldwide. Today the industry stands at a generational crossroads. As large language models (LLMs) and AI disrupt traditional, people-heavy outsourcing methods, both global enterprises and nimble startups are disrupting traditional delivery models.

Before the current wave of AI-native disruption, India’s IT services giants had perfected a powerful operating playbook-built on three pillars:

• a vast and skilled talent pool,
• strong cost arbitrage, and
• the ‘follow-the-sun delivery’ model.

Despite fears of displacement after the rise of ChatGPT and other LLMs, Indian IT services revenues and margins remain resilient. Enterprises still rely on these firms for complex projects, where embedded engineers and subject matter experts provide business-specific context that AI alone can’t capture.

Yet, seamless transformation into an AI native world is hindered by billable-hour models, standardized entry-level workforces, and low R&D spend (under 2% versus over 20% for global product firms). In essence, the growth of large, traditional IT and outsourcing firms remains driven by headcount rather than productivity gains.

AI-first startups and platforms are already proving their ability to deliver outcomes that are better, faster, and more cost-efficient. They benefit from:Exceptionally skilled founding teams with deep domain expertise
AI-driven, product/platform-first mindsets
Rapid time-to-value and measurable ROI
Usage or outcome-based pricing. 

Bessemer has identified three fast-emerging categories of AI-first challengers poised to disrupt existing service models:

• Pure software plays: intelligent platforms that fully automate tasks end-to-end-delivering high-speed, scalable outputs with minimal human input. Eg: Graph AI , Leena AI
• AI enabled services - hybrid models blend AI automation with human‑in‑the‑loop (HITL) oversight. Example: Crescendo and Shopdeck
• Services for AI - These firms supply the data, model operations infrastructure, and evaluation capabilities needed to build net new AI solutions. Eg: Scale, Turing

Bessemer highlights seven key factors that determine a challenger’s ability to truly disrupt incumbents: team quality, platform stickiness, time-to-value, margins, distribution, pricing strategy, and market focus.

India’s IT services industry is projected to exceed $400B by 2030, as AI fundamentally reshapes how enterprises source and deliver technology. While AI-driven efficiencies will compress pricing in the short term, the exponential growth in AI capabilities will dramatically expand both the propensity and ability of global enterprises to outsource complex workflows. This next wave of outsourcing will fuel the sector’s growth, with AI-first products and startups poised to capture outsized value by delivering smarter, faster, and more adaptive solutions.

Indian IT Giants Hold Their Ground Amid AI Disruption: What “Moats” Really Mean

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way businesses operate—from automating customer service to writing software code. But despite the buzz, India’s top IT services firms like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and HCLTech are not just surviving—they’re evolving. Their secret? Something called a “moat.”

What Is a Business “Moat”?

Imagine a castle surrounded by a deep, wide trench filled with water—that’s a moat. In business, a moat is a company’s unique advantage that protects it from competitors. It could be anything: strong brand reputation, loyal customers, proprietary technology, or deep industry expertise.

The wider the moat, the harder it is for rivals to steal market share.

Indian IT Firms: Moats Still Intact

• Infosys has been upgraded to a “wide moat” rating due to high returns and deep expertise in cloud and AI services. Clients find it hard to switch because of trust and complexity.
• TCS holds a wide moat thanks to long-term client relationships and domain knowledge across industries like banking and healthcare.
• Wipro holds a “narrow moat” and is expanding partnerships with cloud and cybersecurity firms to stay competitive.

AI Is a Threat—But Also a Tool

• Contact centers are seeing up to 75% reduction in headcount due to AI chatbots.
• Software development is becoming faster, with AI cutting manual coding by 25–30%.
• Firms are shifting to outcome-based pricing, where clients pay based on results, not hours.

New Growth Areas: Services & Geographies

• Expanding into new markets like Europe and India.
• Offering AI-led services such as predictive analytics and smart automation.
• Building ecosystems with cloud giants like Microsoft and AWS.

Challenges Ahead

• Margins are under pressure due to slower deal-making and rising costs.
• Companies are delaying salary hikes and cutting admin expenses.
• Reskilling employees and hiring AI talent is now a priority.

Q1 Performance Snapshot

Company	Revenue Growth	Profit Growth	Key Insight
TCS	+1.3%	+5.9%	Demand slowdown due to global uncertainty
Infosys	+7.5%	+8.6%	Strong AI-led solutions driving growth
Wipro	+0.8%	+9.8%	BPO-heavy model facing AI disruption
HCLTech	+8.1%	N/A	AI boosting efficiency but squeezing margins

Final Thought

AI is not the end of Indian IT—it’s the next chapter. These firms are using their moats to adapt, innovate, and grow. For everyday investors and tech enthusiasts, the message is clear: Indian IT is evolving, not eroding.

Infosys CEO’s Pay Soars to ₹80.62 Cr—752 Times the Median Employee Salary

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh saw his compensation rise 21.7% to ₹806.2 million ($9.44 million) in the last fiscal year, making him one of the highest-paid IT executives in India said a Reuters report. The increase was largely due to stock options exercised during the year, which accounted for ₹495 million of his total pay.

Parekh’s pay is 752 times the median salary of an Infosys employee, reflecting the growing gap between executive and employee compensation in India's IT sector. His earnings are largely driven by stock options, similar to global trends.

Despite this, Infosys reported 4.2% revenue growth in constant currency terms, falling short of its 4.5%-5% forecast, signaling a weaker business environment. The Indian IT sector, valued at $283 billion, continues to face challenges, including U.S. tariff policies affecting market conditions.

For comparison, TCS CEO K Krithivasan earned $3.11 million, while Wipro CEO Srinivas Pallia received $6.28 million in the same period. Infosys remains one of the few top IT firms to retain its CEO over the past 18-24 months, alongside HCLTech.

Here's how Infosys CEO's compensation compares to other top Indian CEOs:

• Ravi Kumar S (Cognizant) – ₹186 crore ($22.2 million), the highest-paid Indian-origin IT executive.
• Vinay Prakash (Adani Enterprises) – ₹89.37 crore ($10.6 million).
• Nithin Kamath (Zerodha) – ₹72 crore ($8.5 million).
• S.N. Subrahmanyan (Larsen & Toubro) – ₹61.27 crore ($7.3 million).
• K Krithivasan (TCS) – ₹26.52 crore ($3.1 million)
• Srinivas Pallia (Wipro) – ₹6.28 million ($6.2 million).

Parekh’s pay is competitive within India’s IT sector but remains modest compared to global tech giants. His compensation structure is largely driven by stock options, similar to international norms.

For comparison:

• Apple CEO Tim Cook earned $63.2 million in 2024, including stock awards.
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella received $48.5 million in total compensation.
• Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai earned $226 million in 2023, largely due to stock grants.
• Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S was the highest-paid IT executive among Indian-origin leaders, earning ₹186 crore ($22.2 million) in FY24.