New Delhi, July 14 -- Riding on strong first-quarter earnings and growing demand for enterprise artificial intelligence, HCLTech announced its entry into the full-stack AI market with a planned investment of up to Rs.3,500 crore to build AI data centres, while also appointing Jacob Christian Dahl as an independent director to its board.
The company said the investment will be used to establish AI data centres with an initial capacity that can scale up to 50 MW, strengthening its ability to deliver end-to-end AI services spanning infrastructure, cloud, software and enterprise applications.
The announcement comes alongside HCLTech reporting a strong start to FY27, driven by large deal wins and continued demand for AI-led transformation services. During the June quarter, the company secured $1.8 billion in new deal bookings, including a $1.1 billion digital transformation contract with Mercedes-Benz, one of the largest deals announced by an Indian IT services company this year.
The latest investment signals HCLTech's strategy to move beyond AI consulting and software implementation into the underlying infrastructure powering enterprise AI deployments.
The company said its AI data centre initiative will complement its existing capabilities in AI data centre design, DevOps, AI cloud operations and software platforms, allowing it to offer customers a fully integrated AI stack.
Unlike traditional cloud-based AI services, the offering is aimed at enterprises and government organisations looking to deploy AI workloads on dedicated infrastructure while meeting performance, sovereignty and security requirements.
"The growing demand for AI-led transformation requires an integrated approach spanning infrastructure, platforms and applications," the company said, adding that the new offering would address opportunities emerging across both the private and public sectors.
Industry analysts expect demand for AI infrastructure to rise sharply as enterprises increasingly move generative and agentic AI applications from pilot projects into production, creating opportunities for IT services providers to expand beyond managed services into AI infrastructure, cloud platforms and specialised compute.
Alongside the investment announcement, HCLTech said Jacob Christian Dahl has been appointed as an independent director on its board with effect from July 13, 2026. The board appointment comes as the company continues to strengthen its governance framework while expanding its global AI and digital transformation business.
HCLTech's announcements also come as competition among India's largest IT services firms intensifies around AI-led growth. Last week, TCS reported $9.5 billion in total contract value (TCV) for the June quarter, supported by strong demand for AI-led transformation programmes.
The company said its AI business reached an annualised revenue run rate of $2.6 billion, up 13.6% sequentially, with AI embedded across cloud, infrastructure and business transformation engagements. TCS has also expanded partnerships with leading AI companies, including Anthropic and Google Cloud, as it looks to capture a larger share of enterprise AI spending.
HCLTech's AI infrastructure push also reflects a broader shift among Indian IT services firms, which are increasingly investing in proprietary AI platforms, talent and partnerships with leading model providers to capture a larger share of enterprise AI spending. Competitors including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and LTM have announced new AI platforms, strategic partnerships or dedicated AI delivery capabilities over the past year.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.