Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran has taken a more hands-on role at TCS, directing senior leadership to fast-track AI adoption and protect the company's market position.
His intervention comes as AI-native firms like Anthropic have disrupted traditional IT services, triggering a sharp sell-off in TCS and other Indian and global tech stocks.
Chandrasekaran is working closely with CEO K Krithivasan and COO Aarti Subramanian to drive AI-led growth through workforce upskilling and potential AI-focused acquisitions.
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran is taking a more active and direct role in Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as he will be now guiding the firm through a transformative era dominated by AI. He has instructed the senior TCS team to prioritise AI integration and to take decisive actions that will grow the business while defending its market position, The Economic Times reported.
His increased involvement reflects Tata Group's strategic push to ensure TCS remains competitive and relevant as AI reshapes global technology demand and disrupts traditional IT services. As India's largest IT services firm and a key source of dividends for the broader Tata conglomerate, TCS is being positioned as the group's main AI partner, the report added.
3 February 2026
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At a recent company event in Dubai, Chandrasekaran also underscored the need for continuous employee upskilling to prepare TCS' workforce for future AI roles. The move comes as global tech players like OpenAI and Anthropic are accelerating AI innovation.
The shift comes in the wake of a nearly 7% slide in TCS and other IT companies' shares after Anthropic launched a new AI tool. On February 4, shares of TCS slid 6.29% after Anthropic enhanced its enterprise AI assistant with a new automation layer capable of managing end-to-end business workflows.
The launch didn't just affect TCS but shares of Indian IT heavyweights as well as major AI-linked global companies also came under pressure. LTIMindtree had fallen 7.97%, followed by Infosys, which was down 7.89%, Coforge slipped 7.73% and HCLTech declined 5.76%. Mphasis dropped 7.07%, while Tech Mahindra fell 6.68%.
On the other hand, Nvidia and Microsoft fell nearly 3% each, while Alphabet slipped 1.2% on the same day. Amazon shares declined 1.8%, while Salesforce and Adobe dropped around 7% each. This broader tech sell-off had also dragged the Nasdaq down 1.43% to 23,255.19 points.
Meanwhile, today, the shares of TCS were changing hands at ₹2948 at 12:54 PM, while they were trading 0.5% higher during early trade.
Notably, Chandrasekaran had reportedly urged TCS leaders to do "what it takes" to defend and grow the company's market presence amid rapid AI-led change. This includes exploring acquisitions of AI-focused startups and doubling down on new capabilities to counter competition from AI-native firms.
Additionally, the ET report also mentioned that the firm's CEO K Krithivasan and COO Aarti Subramanian are expected to work closely with Chandrasekaran to execute this AI transition strategy. They had earlier worked with Chadeasekaran during his stint as TCS CEO and MD.
