Mindsprint on India's GCC Shift: Code Hubs Must Evolve Into AI Labs

For years, global capability centres (GCCs) in India were viewed primarily as cost-efficient extensions of multinational corporations, handling IT support, back-office operations, and routine business processes. As AI takes over enterprise technology strategies, GCCs are evolving into innovation hubs where global companies are placing strategic leadership roles, driving digital transformation initiatives, and increasingly influencing business outcomes.

The shift is creating a new dynamic within India's technology ecosystem. GCCs, once seen as competitors to traditional IT services providers, are becoming important customers, innovation partners, and co-creators of enterprise AI initiatives.

Technology services player Mindsprint has seen the shift firsthand.

"The India GCC market is no longer just an enabler, but also now has a place at the table to provide value to the business through those leadership positions," Nitesh Mirchandani, Chief Business Officer at Mindsprint, tells AIM.

The Singapore-headquartered company began life as the technology and business services arm of agri-business giant Olam Group. What was once an internal captive centre was carved out and rebranded as Mindsprint three years ago, before being acquired by Wipro in a $375 million deal completed in May 2026.

Despite its origins as a GCC, Mindsprint has rapidly expanded beyond its parent organisation, adding more than 75 customers across food and agriculture, retail, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, healthcare, and life sciences.

The company's evolution suggests that GCCs are now being viewed as strategic assets capable of generating innovation as well as business value.

Changing the GCC Equation

The rise of AI is accelerating this transformation. According to Mirchandani, enterprise conversations have fundamentally changed over the last 12 months. Earlier, companies focused on AI experimentation and proof-of-concept projects. Now, they demand measurable business outcomes.

"2026 is the year where the industry has pivoted from just experimenting and doing POCs to actually productionising AI," he says.

The transition from experimentation to deployment is forcing organisations to rethink where innovation happens inside the enterprise. Increasingly, that responsibility is falling to GCCs. India's talent pool, engineering scale and growing leadership capabilities are making the country an attractive location for enterprises looking to build AI-powered products, modernise operations, and develop next-generation technology platforms.

As a result, GCCs are becoming more deeply embedded in strategic decision-making processes.

According to the Zinnov-Nasscom 2026 report, India is home to 2,117 GCCs, with 39% of them having end-to-end ownership of product platforms and IP, and 5% leading frontier AI-led transformation operations.

Mirchandani notes that many multinational companies now house senior technology and business leadership roles in India rather than limiting local teams to execution-focused responsibilities. The shift is evident across sectors ranging from manufacturing and retail to healthcare and financial services, where Indian GCCs are taking ownership of critical technology initiatives.

The changing role of GCCs is also prompting IT services firms to rethink their engagement models.

"There is an opportunity for IT companies to do more with GCCs. Not just from a business growth perspective, but from a co-innovation perspective," Mirchandani adds.

The emergence of GCC-focused offerings from major technology companies underscores this opportunity. Industry leaders are increasingly launching "GCC-as-a-Service" models that help multinational companies establish, scale, and operate centres in India. Mindsprint itself counts several GCCs among its customer base.

Why Domain Expertise Matters

While AI is driving much of the current excitement, Mirchandani argues that technology alone is not enough. Domain expertise is emerging as the most important differentiator in enterprise AI deployments.

A recent study conducted jointly by Mindsprint and HFS Research, which surveyed more than 100 executives across the food and agriculture sector, found that 47% believed their technology providers lacked sufficient domain knowledge. The findings suggest that many organisations are struggling to move beyond generic AI deployments toward solutions that address industry-specific challenges.

For Mindsprint, whose roots lie in Olam's global agriculture operations, this presents an opportunity. The company has built several industry-focused AI platforms, including ProcureSprint for procurement, Sprint AP for accounts payable automation, TradeSprint for commodity trading and risk management, and FarmSprint for plantation management.

According to Mirchandani, the future of enterprise AI will depend on combining technological expertise with a deep understanding of industry workflows, regulations, and business processes.

"AI initiatives fail when they are not used in the right context or the right industry," he remarks.

Building an AI-Ready Workforce

Mindsprint employs approximately 3,300 people globally, the majority of whom are based in India. As part of its AI-first strategy, the company has invested heavily in upskilling employees.

According to company data, 95% of employees have completed foundational generative AI certification programmes, while advanced training initiatives are being rolled out for developers, prompt engineers, and quality analysts.

Mirchandani describes the impact of AI on employees as a "positive pressure", encouraging workers to become more productive and informed rather than simply automating jobs away.

As AI becomes embedded across enterprise functions, the value of human expertise increasingly lies in understanding how to apply technology effectively within specific business contexts.