Wipro AGM: AI to drive next phase of enterprise transformation, says Rishad Premji

Wipro will sharpen its focus on AI-led transformation, enterprise platforms and consulting as clients move from experimentation to execution, Chairman Rishad Premji and CEO and MD Srini Pallia said at the company’s 80th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday.

The company said it is continuing to invest in AI capabilities, platforms, partnerships and talent while maintaining its focus on margins and cash generation, even as the broader IT industry remains cautious.

Highlighting the changing enterprise technology landscape, Premji said AI represented “a fundamental shift of our time” and was creating new opportunities for innovation, transformation and growth.

“We believe AI represents a fundamental shift of our time. Alongside efficiency gains, it is creating new opportunities for innovation, transformation and growth while accelerating demand in areas such as data, modernisation and AI-powered IT. Our clients have moved beyond pilots and begun embedding AI into core business processes and operations,” he said.

For FY26, Wipro’s IT services revenue declined 1.6 per cent in constant currency to $10.5 billion, while total bookings rose 14 per cent to $16.4 billion. Large-deal bookings increased to $7.8 billion, including four deals with a total contract value of more than $500 million. The company also expanded its operating margin to 17.2 per cent.

Premji said realising business outcomes from AI required more than deploying technology. Enterprises would need to reimagine processes and workflows, modernise data and enterprise architecture, and bring people along during the transformation. He added that this would be a long-term journey requiring new capabilities, operating models and responsible AI governance.

He said Wipro continued to invest in AI capabilities, platforms, partnerships and talent through Wipro Intelligence, its unified suite of AI-powered platforms, solutions and offerings. The company is also deploying AI internally, with a significant majority of its workforce having completed advanced AI learning pathways while building capabilities such as exponential engineers, AI architects, and forward-deployed engineers.

Meanwhile, CEO Pallia said AI adoption was accelerating rapidly, and clients were increasingly seeking measurable business outcomes.

“Today, as AI adoption accelerates, we are moving forward with clear intent. AI is reshaping how companies operate, compete, and grow. The pace of change is accelerating, and expectations are much higher.”

Pallia said Wipro had established an AI Native Business and Platforms Unit to deepen its AI focus as it pivots towards a platform-plus-services model. The company has also committed $500 million to Wipro Ventures to invest in frontier start-ups across AI, data and security, while expanding partnerships with AI labs, start-ups and academic institutions. Over the past year, Wipro launched 10 innovation labs globally and recently established an applied AI Centre of Excellence for cloud models powered by Anthropic.

He said Wipro Intelligence formed the foundation of the company’s AI strategy by bringing together platforms, industry solutions and partner innovations to deliver enterprise-scale outcomes. The company is also developing domain-specific small language models (SLMs) to support specialised AI agents, sovereign AI requirements and lower operating costs for clients.

Responding to shareholders’ concerns over Wipro’s slower revenue growth and market share gains relative to peers, Premji said the company’s strategy centred on building a differentiated consulting-led, AI-powered business.

“Our fundamental focus is how to drive a consulting-led AI-powered story going forward to serve our customers. We’re investing on a systematic basis in Wipro Intelligence, our unified suite of AI offerings.”

He said the company was focusing on improving customer delivery through platforms such as WINGS and WEGA, building AI agents, and helping clients reimagine their b...