Infosys Shows Little to No Confidence in Generative AI

Carrying the burden of $1.5 biilion failed AI deal, Infosys showed little to no confidence in generative AI at FY24 Q3 earnings call – the same goes for TCS as well – and we’ll have to wait and watch for HCLTech and Wipro, which are going to announce its quarterly results today. 

Both Infosys and TCS did not reveal revenue numbers or details of their generative AI efforts or initiatives, displaying poor confidence in their efforts, or lacking clarity as to how they are going to win large deals in generative AI.   

The company mentioned about a large deal TCV for the quarter was $3.2 billion, with 71% being net new. However, Infosys' chief Salil Parekh hesitated to mention the amount attributable to generative AI, or the details of its failed AI deal. "AI has a lot of interest and traction, even if the revenue numbers are small," he said, without delving into the numbers. 

“We are not, at this stage, publicly sharing what the Generative AI revenue is, but we have tremendous capability, a good leading market position, and we feel, in generative AI, we are very strong in the capabilities,” he said. 

Parekh gave no additional comments when asked about the reason for termination of Infosys's $1.5 billion deal by a global client. The deal aimed to provide an enhanced digital experience, modernisation, and business operations services over a 15-year period, leveraging Infosys platforms and AI solutions, which might be Topaz. 

However he  mentioned that Infosys has an extremely strong capability set and a lot of activity with its clients. “We are working with a large retail company on their AI First Transformation. This is very strategic work with the client” he said. 

Furthermore he added, “We're also working with a large global bank on their risk area, using large language models to enhance the risk management for them. So, we have a large number of such deals.” 

Stressing on the capability he said, “We are seeing strong traction for generative AI programs leveraging our Topaz capability. We have integrated our generative AI components into our service line portfolio, creating impact for our clients. We have 100,000 employees trained in generative AI areas.”

"I believe we have incredible capability in Topaz, and clients are also resonating with that capability. We are not calling out the value of generative AI today, but that is a different subject. The work we're doing, I think, is quite impactful” he added. 

When asked about the clients, he said it's a mix of both new and existing clients. “We've also done what we call a Generative AI Roadshow. It's a tour where we take all of our capabilities to different locations around the world, and there are some new clients as well for whom we are doing generative AI for the first time,” he added.

On the contrary, global IT giant Accenture revealed that despite revenue growth of a mere 3% with $16.2 billion, it made upwards of $450 million in new bookings from generative AI applications alone, including a deal with McDonald’s and BBVA, amongst others, showcasing confidence in its ability and capability to execute generative AI projects and initiatives.