India, June 4 -- A US-based cloud software company has told its 5,100 employees that they will not receive annual salary hikes in 2026, as the firm is redirecting compensation budgets toward artificial intelligence (AI) investments.

According to a report by Business Insider, cloud analytics and data platform company Teradata informed employees in January that annual pay increases would be paused this year. The decision was outlined in an internal memo from CEO Steve McMillan, which has recently come to light.

In the memo, McMillan said the company's primary focus for 2026 is to "win in the market with AI" and that achieving this goal would require increased spending on AI talent, expertise and innovation.

"We will fund this AI investme...