“Mass upskilling is not AI innovation.” The remark by Hari Varrier, senior vice president at Havells, cut to the heart of a debate over whether India’s IT giants can reinvent themselves as product innovators in the AI era. The provocation drew sharp responses from other speakers who defended the scale and trust built by legacy firms.
The exchange unfolded at Cypher 2025, where leaders including Lenskart co-founder Ramneek Khurana, Adani Renewables chief digital officer Kiran KR, and Tube Investments CIO Krupasindhu Roul debated the future of Indian enterprise AI. The discussion pitted the experience and reach of firms like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro against the agility of startups and global platforms.
Scale vs Agility
Khurana and Roul argued that IT giants enjoy the advantages of scale, established client trust, and deep integration with enterprises. They pointed to India’s digital infrastructure, such as UPI and Aadhaar, as a unique base for building AI.
“With the results we have delivered, what we have built in terms of talent pool and talent depth in the country speaks for itself,” Khurana said.
Varrier and Kiran challenged that view. They highlighted the inertia and “service DNA” within large firms that hampers product innovation.
Kiran noted that despite India’s three-decade IT dominance and 5.8 million software developers, the country has yet to produce a global ERP, database, or social media platform. He pointed out that Indian IT majors paid $17.5 billion in dividends in two years, while innovators like OpenAI raised similar amounts for building new technologies.
He urged giants to shed complacency and invest in world-class AI products.
Giants Making Moves
The panel noted ongoing investments. TCS has earmarked funds to upskill 3.5 lakh employees, while Infosys is backing its Topaz platform. Projects such as TCS’s Ignio and multi-LLM platforms were cited as evidence of progress.
Yet both sides admitted these steps remain incremental compared with startups’ agility or the scale of global players.
That said, Startups were praised for moving fast in focused domains. Varrier said lasting innovations often come from nimble teams free from legacy processes. He added that “new-age companies” are better positioned to pioneer AI, while giants can play a role by investing in or acquiring them.
Toward Collaboration
Despite disagreements, a consensus formed around collaboration. Varrier and Kiran said India’s AI future depends on ecosystems where startups drive risk and innovation, and giants provide reach and trust.
Government pushes, such as India.ai and subsidised GPUs, were seen as positive steps to democratise data and infrastructure.
A live poll showed startups as the audience’s clear choice to lead enterprise AI over the next five years.
In closing, speakers agreed that both sides will play a role. Startups will spark “10x” shifts in services and business models, while giants bring maturity and enterprise adoption.
Roul said IT majors and startups must “tie up” to leverage each other’s strengths. Kiran and Varrier cautioned that leadership will only emerge when legacy firms adopt risk with the same enthusiasm as startups.
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