Infosys and Wipro executives said that enterprises are starting to operationalize artificial intelligence projects, scale agentic AI and build a new software stack as pilots move to production with industries such as banking and financial services leading the way.
Those were the highlights from a pair of earnings reports from the Indian services firms that landed within minutes of each other. Infosys reported second quarter earnings of $839 million on revenue of $5.08 billion, up 2.9% from a year ago. Wipro reported second quarter earnings of $368 million on revenue of $2.56 billion, up nearly 2% from a year ago.
Earnings results from services firms are a handy way to get a high level view of what's happening with AI efforts. Both Infosys and Wipro provided color on AI implementations, but the former delivered named references including ABN Amro, Mastercard, Telstra, HanesBrands and Agco Corp.
Here's a look at the takeaways from the Infosys and Wipro results.
Enterprise AI is being scaled by customers.
Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said that "client interactions show strong focus on deploying AI across the enterprise for growth and on cost efficiency programs." He said clients are leveraging Infosys' platforms for AI agents and AI overall.
Wipro CEO Srinivas Pallia said customers are prioritizing cost optimization, vendor consolidation, modernization and scaling AI agents.
On the delivery side, both companies said they are leveraging AI agents more.
- Enterprise AI: It's all about the proprietary data
- AI agents, automation, process mining starting to converge
AI-driven productivity pays the bills, but growth matters too.
Across industries, AI investments are justified based on cost savings, but customer experience and growth is becoming a bigger part of the ROI mix. Infosys CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka said:
"Clients are actively planning modernization and AI-driven initiatives with a clear focus on cost efficiency, enhanced customer experience and strategic transformation."
Pallia said Wipro's customers are "clearly looking for cost optimization."
The broader theme for both companies is that enterprises aren't into AI pilots as much as they are business outcomes.
Can you monetize trust?
Questions from analysts around agentic AI and automation frameworks often revolved around accuracy and hallucinations. What happens if an AI agent goes rogue?
Both companies highlighted guardrails, years of experience automating processes and industry knowhow. Wipro's Hari Shetty, chief strategist, said Wipro Intelligence is a layer for responsible AI guardrails built into the platform.
Meanwhile, Infosys Chief Delivery Officer Satish H.C. said: "Our Responsible AI office ensures clients have the defense and technical guardrails to address AI-related risks. We are among the first certified on ISO 42001:2023."
The questions were notable since they raised more queries. Can Indian IT giants monetize trust in AI? And are vendors on the hook if AI agents wind up hurting a client's business?
Banking, financial services and insurance lead AI spending.
The fact that financial companies lead the way on AI spending isn't surprising to anyone keeping tabs on earnings reports. The financial sector is one of the most mature industries for AI adoption. Both Infosys and Wipro noted that financial firms are scaling AI pilots.
Sanghrajka said:
"In financial services, clients are actively planning modernization and AI-driven initiatives with a clear focus on cost efficiency, enhance customer experience and strategic business transformation. We see strong momentum in mortgages, capital markets commercial banking and wealth management areas. Banks have spent significantly to build AI infrastructure. Many initiatives are progressing from proof of concepts to full-scale projects with notable traction in Agentic AI."
Healthcare transformation
Healthcare was cited as a strong vertical. Infosys cited strength in healthcare with clients deploying AI and automation. Wipro's Pallia cited a mega deal with a healthcare client. Palia noted:
- Healthcare is going through structural changes and companies are navigating various policy changes.
- Payers are trying to accelerate and transform contact centers.
- Wipro healthcare clients are looking for real-time claim processing, efficiencies in pre-authorization and enhanced transparency.
Healthcare was Wipro's best vertical in the second quarter with revenue growth of 3.9%.
Manufacturing and energy mixed.
Infosys' Sanghrajka said manufacturing "continues to face trade and macro uncertainties, which is creating pressure on discretionary spend specifically in the automotive sector."
However, Sanghrajka said manufacturers are spending on the following:
- Application and infrastructure rationalization.
- Leveraging AI for automation.
- Predictive maintenance.
- Resolving supply chain bottlenecks.
As for energy, Sanghrajka said utilities are trying to leverage new technologies to meet data center demand. "Utility companies are looking for partners to meet the accelerating electricity demand, creating opportunities in areas like renewable integration, grid modernization, AI-driven optimization, et cetera," he said.
Industries are aiming AI spend at specific issues. Telecom, technology and communication are focused on using AI for customer experience, but cost optimization remains critical. Retailers are also mixed as they wrestle with tariffs and consumer demand.
The new AI stack
Other nuggets worth noting include:
- Infosys and Wipro both said that big deals are signed due to vendor consolidation plans. Enterprises are looking for end-to-end services and horizontal plays.
- That vendor consolidation is leading to large scale generative AI and agentic AI deployments.
- Forward deployed engineers are being used for AI transformation deals.
- Indian IT services firms are increasingly developing AI stacks for enterprises instead of deploying packaged applications. Infosys' Satish HC said:
"The opportunity with AI is that we are developing a new breed of services stack or software stack for our clients, which wasn't done before. This is a reimagining how we run business or how we even deliver services. The onus is on co-creation with our clients, which is why I think there is a sharper pivot to the leverage of forward-deployed engineers. As we move from POCs to enterprise scale adoption, we see that there will be a lot more need for forward-deployed engineers to work with our clients to drive this co-creation of the new breed of software stack."
