TCS ended the December quarter with 5,82,163 employees, down 11,151 from the previous quarter, even as it sharply expanded its pool of AI-trained staff and posted steady financial performance.
The company reported revenue of ₹67,087 crore for Q3 FY26, up 2% quarter-on-quarter, and net income of ₹13,438 crore, an increase of 8.5% year-on-year. Operating margin stood at 25.2%, while annualised AI services revenue rose to $1.8 billion, up 17.3% sequentially on a constant-currency basis.
The decline in overall headcount highlights how TCS is reshaping its workforce as it moves toward AI-led delivery. Even with fewer employees on the rolls, the company said it now has more than 217,000 associates with advanced AI skills working across client projects.
“Our associates are at the heart of our transformation into an AI-first enterprise,” chief HR officer Sudeep Kunnumal said. “As of this quarter, there are over 217,000 associates with advanced AI skills, directly powering client success at scale. We doubled our intake of fresh graduates with higher-order skills, rapidly expanding our next generation talent pool.”
The numbers point to a shift away from traditional manpower heavy delivery models toward higher-skilled, AI-enabled teams. CEO K Krithivasan has said that every new engagement at TCS is now designed to be AI-led, with automation improving productivity and reducing the volume of routine work.
That shift is also reflected in the company’s growing AI business. TCS said its AI services now generate $1.8 billion in annualised revenue, while total contract value for the quarter stood at $9.3 billion, suggesting strong enterprise demand for AI-driven transformation.
Chief financial officer Samir Seksaria said the company’s margin stability and cash generation gave it the confidence to continue investing in both technology and talent. Cash flow from operations in Q3 was 130.4 per cent of net income.
Together, the Q3 numbers show TCS using a smaller but more skilled workforce to support its push toward becoming an AI-led services company, even as traditional hiring and headcount growth slow across Indian IT.
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Zyoin Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with WeWork India to jointly enable faster and more scalable growth of global capability centres (GCCs) across India. The partnership aims to help global enterprises establish and expand GCCs by combining talent strategy with agile, enterprise-ready workspace solutions.
The collaboration focuses on one of the most critical enablers of GCC success today—access to flexible, scalable, and talent-centric workspaces.
Zyoin Group’s GCC advisory expertise, talent intelligence, and employer branding capabilities will be complemented by WeWork India’s flexible workspace infrastructure, designed to support rapid scaling and multi-city expansion, the companies said in a release.
Together, the two companies plan to support organisations at different stages of their GCC journey, from pilot teams and lean initial setups to large, multi-location operations.
By aligning workspace strategy with talent growth, collaboration needs, and evolving workforce expectations, the partnership aims to reduce time-to-scale while improving operational readiness.
Anuj Agrawal, founder and CEO of Zyoin Group, said in a statement, “For GCCs, workspace strategy today goes far beyond real estate — it is about agility, experience, and enabling talent to do their best work. Partnering with WeWork India allows us to help global organisations build flexible, future-ready GCCs aligned with how teams work and grow in India.”
Meanwhile, according to India’s Next Commercial Real Estate Wave report, India’s commercial real estate office space market is projected to grow to $120–130 billion (economic activity) by 2030, reflecting a strong 20–22% CAGR.
A large share of this growth is driven by GCCs, as per UnearthInsight’s projections. They are expected to drive 160–200 million square feet of new office demand by 2030, with flexible and managed workspaces capturing a significant share of this growth.
Santosh Martin, chief revenue officer at WeWork India, highlighted the role of flexible workspaces in GCC expansion, saying, “As a result, we design every workspace to reflect the unique DNA of each organisation, from design and culture to employee experience. We are delighted to partner with Zyoin Group to support GCCs in their journey to set up in India.”
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Google has announced a new open standard and a set of AI-powered tools to help retailers sell products in an emerging “agentic shopping” environment, where AI systems act on behalf of consumers.
The company introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard that allows AI agents, retailers, and payment systems to work together across the shopping journey, from product discovery to checkout and post-purchase support. Google said the protocol is intended to reduce the need for separate integrations for each AI agent or platform.
“We believe in an agentic commerce future that is open, collaborative and built for everyone to succeed,” said Vidhya Srinivasan, vice president and general manager for ads and commerce at Google, in a statement.
UCP has been co-developed with retailers and platforms, including Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target, and Walmart. It is also endorsed by companies such as Flipkart, Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe.
According to Google, UCP is compatible with existing standards, including Agent2Agent (A2A), the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), and the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The company said the goal is to create a common language that allows AI agents to interact with retailers and payment providers without friction.
As part of the rollout, UCP will soon power a new checkout feature on eligible Google product listings shown in AI Mode in Search and in the Gemini app. Shoppers in the US will be able to complete purchases during product research using Google Pay, with payment methods and shipping details stored in Google Wallet. Support for PayPal is expected to follow.
Google said retailers will remain the seller of record and will be able to customise the integration. The company added that the system is designed to reduce cart abandonment by enabling purchases earlier in the shopping process.
In addition, Google launched Business Agent, a branded AI agent that allows shoppers to chat directly with retailers on Search. The agent can answer product questions in a brand’s voice and guide users toward a purchase.
Business Agent will go live with retailers including Lowe’s, Michaels, Poshmark, and Reebok. Eligible US retailers can activate the feature through Merchant Centre.
In the coming months, Google said retailers will be able to train these agents using their own data, access customer insights, provide product offers, and enable direct purchases within the chat experience.
To support discovery in conversational shopping, Google also announced new data attributes in Merchant Centre. These are designed to help AI systems understand product details beyond keywords, such as common questions, compatible accessories, and alternatives.
Finally, Google also introduced Direct Offers, a new Google Ads pilot that allows retailers to show targeted discounts directly within AI Mode. The system uses AI to determine when an offer is relevant to a shopper who shows strong buying intent.
“With Direct Offers, advertisers can present exclusive deals to shoppers who are ready to buy,” Google said. The pilot initially focuses on discounts, with plans to expand to bundles and free shipping.
The Big Tech company said it is working with brands including Petco, e.l.f. Cosmetics and Samsonite to test the feature.
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As the GCC market continues to expand globally, the Philippines is gaining attention as an emerging opportunity—supported by a highly skilled talent base, robust digital infrastructure, and an environment conducive to scalable shared services operations.
The Global Capability Center (GCC) market represents a significant and rapidly expanding global opportunity. Valued at $32.50 billion in 2023, the market is projected to more than double to $67.97 billion by 2032, growing at a robust CAGR of 12.04% as enterprises worldwide accelerate their adoption of global shared services and capability hubs.
Within this broader expansion, the Philippines is increasingly recognised as a strong emerging GCC destination. Driven by its highly skilled talent pool, strong English proficiency, and deep expertise across IT, engineering, finance, and customer operations, the country offers enterprises a compelling environment to support scalable, high-value GCC operations.
This momentum is reinforced by the Philippines’ rapidly expanding digital economy, which reached $36.5 billion in 2022 and contributed 9.4% to national GDP. Digital infrastructure accounted for $28 billion—representing 77% of the total—underscoring the country’s growing digital maturity.
This growth is further supported by forward-looking policies such as the Ease of Doing Business Act and the Philippine Innovation Act, which continue to streamline regulatory processes and attract technology-driven investments.
In parallel, the government’s strong emphasis on public-private partnerships is accelerating the development of critical infrastructure, strengthening the foundations needed to support the sustained expansion of the GCC ecosystem.
Speaking on the rapid evolution of the Philippines’ GCC ecosystem, Parikshat Nagpal, CEO of KMC Teams at KMC Solutions, and COO Tracy Ignacio delivered a clear message at the MachineCon GCC Summit 2025 that the country is no longer a fallback or secondary destination. It is fast emerging as a strategic first choice for global enterprises seeking speed, scale, and high-performance capability centers.
Across conversations and panels, KMC emphasised the country’s unique advantages, including a deep and highly skilled talent pool, strong English proficiency and high cultural alignment with Western markets.
When combined with competitive operational costs and a mature shared-services ecosystem, these strengths make the country an increasingly attractive hub for organisations seeking efficient, scalable and high-performance GCC operations.
An Integrated Model That Reduces Complexity
KMC offers a fully integrated operating framework designed to simplify GCC setup and accelerate time to value. The model brings together compliant employment solutions—including Employer of Record (EOR) services—alongside recruitment and onboarding, HR and payroll administration, and regulatory compliance, supported by a nationwide network of fully equipped workspaces.
This end-to-end approach enables organisations to launch and scale capability centers quickly and efficiently, with minimal operational friction. With over 134,000 square meters across 30 flexible workspace sites, KMC provides fully managed offices equipped with enterprise-grade IT, reception services, facilities management, and custom-built capability centres.
As a result, global companies can become operational within weeks rather than months, eliminating the complexity of coordinating multiple vendors and accelerating the path from setup to scale.
The New Blueprint for Future-Ready GCC Workspaces
During the panel discussion in the summit titled ‘Workplaces that Inspire: The New GCC Real-Estate Blueprint’, Ignacio joined industry leaders from Bluevine, Sabre Corporation and Blackhawk Network to explore how workplaces are rapidly evolving.
The discussion revealed a clear trend: GCC offices transitioning into dynamic, activity-based ecosystems designed to enhance talent experience and performance.
Emerging workspace elements now include collaboration pods, innovation hubs, dedicated focus and quiet zones, modular multi-use spaces, and a growing emphasis on wellness-driven amenities such as nap rooms, gyms, and recovery areas.
Together, these features are redefining GCC workplaces into dynamic, flexible environments that enhance productivity, creativity, and employee well-being.
These hybrid-ready environments are now directly linked to employee retention, engagement and productivity, making real-estate strategy a core pillar of GCC success.
Philippine Teams as Extensions of Global HQs
Throughout the summit, Nagpal reiterated a significant shift in the GCC operating model, noting that teams in the Philippines are increasingly functioning as high-performance extensions of global headquarters, rather than outsourced units.
He added that enterprises scale faster when they are freed from coordinating multiple partners for workspace, compliance, talent and operations.
KMC’s unique bundled model, he said, eliminates friction and empowers global organisations to focus on innovation and growth.
MachineCon 2025 reinforced a decisive industry trend, showcasing that Southeast Asia, especially the Philippines, is becoming a top-priority region for global expansion. With speed, agility and operational reliability emerging as new success markers for GCCs, organisations are rethinking where and how they build their next capability center.
KMC’s integrated approach, combining talent, real estate, infrastructure and compliance, positioned the company as a strategic partner enabling future-ready GCC growth—one partner, total GCC assurance.
The post Why the Philippines is Gaining GCC Momentum appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.
The year has just begun, and the momentum appears to be firmly on Google’s side. On January 8, Alphabet, the search giant’s parent, overtook Apple to become the world’s second most valuable publicly traded company, behind NVIDIA.
Alphabet’s market capitalisation closed at approximately $3.89 trillion, edging past Apple’s valuation of about $3.85 trillion following a recent surge in its share price. It is the first time since 2019 that Alphabet has surpassed Apple in market value.
The reshuffle is striking, given Apple’s near-final integration of Google’s Gemini models into Apple Intelligence. In late 2025, multiple reports said Apple would pay Google roughly $1 billion annually to run a custom version of Gemini as part of its next-generation Siri stack. In effect, Apple is buying intelligence from the very company that just overtook it.
That shift reflects a broader realignment underway in AI.
During a recent podcast with entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, Elon Musk pointed to Google and NVIDIA as the companies most likely to accumulate long-term value from AI and robotics. Google, he said, had “laid the groundwork for an immense amount of value creation from an AI standpoint.”
Market data suggests that groundwork is beginning to pay off.
According to Similarweb, ChatGPT’s share of global visits to generative AI chatbot websites fell from about 86.7% in early 2025 to roughly 64.5% in January 2026. Over the same period, Gemini’s share climbed from 5.7% to around 21.5%, signalling a rapid narrowing of the gap.
The pressure has not gone unnoticed inside OpenAI. Last year, chief executive Sam Altman announced an internal ‘code red’, triggered by a rival development seen as a potential threat to OpenAI’s position.
Much of Google’s recent momentum is tied to Gemini 3, its latest flagship model, which has drawn a strong user response. The company’s newer image-generation system, Nano Banana Pro, has also gained attention for handling text reliably and producing detailed infographics, areas where earlier models often struggled.
Distribution, Not Just Models
Gemini’s biggest edge, however, is not technical benchmarks, but distribution. Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at Futurum Equities, wrote on X that Google can ship new AI capabilities instantly across Search, YouTube, Android, and Workspace, reaching billions of users without asking them to change behaviour.
According to him, the company that can successfully distribute intelligence widely across devices, applications, and business processes will dominate the new AI economy, and Google is clearly establishing this system across its whole ecosystem.
More than 3 billion active Android devices worldwide can surf Gemini features directly through Google Assistant, while Google Search, which holds close to a 90% of the global market, is already rolling out AI-powered results through AI Overviews. Gmail, Maps and YouTube extend Gemini’s reach further, embedding AI into products people already use daily.
Samsung Electronics recently said it plans to expand Galaxy AI features across its devices, much of it powered by Gemini. The rollout is expected to grow from about 400 million devices last year to roughly 800 million smartphones and tablets by 2026.
Google is also pushing Gemini deeper into productivity. The company has introduced what it calls the “Gemini era” of Gmail, bringing AI-generated summaries, natural-language question answering and contextual writing tools directly into the inbox. Instead of searching keywords, users receive synthesised answers across email threads by default.
Owning the AI Stack: Models, Chips, and Cloud
Google’s advantage runs deeper than consumer products. Unlike most AI players, it controls the entire technical stack.
At the infrastructure layer, Google designs its own Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), custom chips optimised for training and running large language models at scale.
Gemini runs on this infrastructure by default, as do the AI systems behind Search, Maps, Photos, and Ads.
That strategy is beginning to attract external validation. Anthropic has said it will use Google’s TPUs, while Meta has reportedly explored them for parts of its training workloads. Gemini 3 Pro, widely regarded as Google’s most powerful frontier model, was trained entirely on TPUs.
OpenAI, by contrast, depends heavily on Microsoft’s cloud and NVIDIA hardware, exposing it to cost pressure and supply constraints. Google’s vertical integration allows faster iteration and lower marginal deployment costs.
Beyond Screens
Perhaps the clearest signal of Google’s long-term AI ambitions lies beyond chat interfaces.
In early 2026, Google DeepMind announced a partnership with Boston Dynamics to integrate Gemini-based foundation models into next-generation robots, including humanoid systems.
The goal is to bring large multimodal AI models into the physical world, allowing robots to perceive, reason, and act with greater autonomy. This work builds on years of Google research in reinforcement learning, robotics simulation, and embodied AI.
Neither OpenAI nor Apple currently operates a comparable robotics program at scale. Google is betting that the next phase of AI will move off screens and into the physical world.
Two years ago, Google was criticised for moving too slowly in generative AI. Today, the picture looks very different.
Gemini is gaining users. Distribution is unmatched. The company owns its chips, its cloud and its delivery channels. Its models are spreading across consumer products, enterprise software and robotics. Even competitors are becoming customers.
ChatGPT may have sparked the AI wave, but Google now seems focused on shaping what happens next.
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Google on January 8 announced a major update to Gmail, introducing new AI-powered features under what it calls the ‘Gemini era’ of email, to help users manage growing inbox volumes and extract information faster.
The new capabilities are powered by Gemini 3 and begin rolling out on January 9 in the US, starting with English. Google said support for more languages and regions will follow.
The update brings AI Overviews to Gmail, allowing users to get summaries of long email threads and answers to questions asked in natural language. The feature uses Gemini to synthesise information across emails instead of requiring keyword searches.
“Instead of hunting for keywords or digging through a year of emails, just use natural language,” said Blake Barnes, vice president of product for Gmail. “Gemini’s advanced reasoning pulls the answer, instantly summarising the exact details you need.”
AI Overviews conversation summaries are rolling out globally at no cost, while the ability to ask questions directly to the inbox will be available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.
Google also announced wider access to its AI-assisted writing tools. Help Me Write and updated Suggested Replies are now available to all users for drafting and refining emails. A new Proofread feature, which checks grammar, tone and style, will be limited to paid AI subscribers.
“Suggested Replies use the context of your conversation to offer relevant, one-click responses that match how you write,” Barnes added. He explained that Help Me Write will gain deeper personalisation next month by using context from other Google apps.
Another addition is AI Inbox, a new inbox view designed to surface priority emails, deadlines and reminders. The system identifies important messages based on factors such as frequent contacts, saved contacts and inferred relationships from email content.
“AI Inbox is like having a personalised briefing, highlighting to-dos and catching you up on what matters,” Barnes said, adding that analysis is done “securely with the privacy protections you expect from Google”.
AI Inbox is currently being tested with a limited group of users and is expected to roll out more broadly in the coming months.
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The tech industry often paints the AI future as a race for dominance. One breakthrough replaces the last, with the promise of a tech revolution. But some of the biggest decisions shaping computing today are not about choosing winners; rather, it’s about learning how different systems can work together.
That thinking underpins how Fujitsu is approaching its next phase of growth. Fujitsu is reshaping its presence in India, positioning the country as a core centre for research and intelligence rather than a low-cost engineering base.
In a roundtable with AIM, Ken Toyoda, MD and CEO of Fujitsu Research of India Private Limited (FRIPL); Okai Jungo, head of technology business management; and Priyanka Sharma, director of software engineering and business head of the Monaka R&D Unit at FRIPL, outlined how this strategy is taking shape.
Until recently, India’s association with Fujitsu had largely been limited to electronics and hardware. That perception has shifted. The company has moved key research work in high-performance computing and quantum systems to India, reflecting a broader internal transition.
“Three years back, our business was primarily in that sector,” Sharma said. “But now, India has become our nodal centre for cutting-edge IT, which is HPC, quantum.”
Not Everything Needs Quantum
The Japanese technology company views quantum computing, AI, and high-performance computing as parts of a broader system.
While Fujitsu has built and deployed superconducting quantum systems, it does not present quantum as a universal solution. Instead, it emphasises matching problems to the right computing architecture.
“Not every computation needs quantum, and not every computation needs GPUs or CPUs,” Sharma remarked. The company believes sustainability in computing comes from carefully choosing systems, rather than defaulting to the most advanced option.
This approach forms the basis of Fujitsu’s hybrid computing strategy. The model combines traditional processors, GPUs, and quantum computers, with a software layer that selects the most suitable resource for each task.
“It has to basically be able to pick the optimal computing architecture, based on the application,” she added.
Quantum computing, in Fujitsu’s view, remains best suited for specific use cases. Drug discovery is one such area where the challenge lies in running vast permutations to identify viable molecules. Classical systems struggle to scale these calculations efficiently.
“Identification of a new drug molecule is a permutation problem,” Sharma emphasised. “That is where quantum computing comes into play.”
Even then, Fujitsu sees quantum working alongside classical computing. Toyoda revealed that the company currently operates a 256-qubit quantum computer and plans to release a 1,000-qubit system next year. A 10,000-qubit machine is already in development.
Robots That Feel the Room
Beyond computing infrastructure, Fujitsu is investing extensively in physical AI. The focus is on ensuring that robotics can interact with people and environments, rather than just perform repetitive tasks.
The company’s research spans robotics, AI, and material science. The executives described a future where robots respond to human emotions and collaborate with other machines in shared spaces.
“This is physical AI,” Sharma said, “where you are able to add the right emotional gesture on the face of the robot.”
Fujitsu does not see this as a single-company effort. Its leadership argues that robotics ecosystems will involve many platforms, standards, and control systems. Without coordination, such systems risk failing in real-world settings.
“The future of robotics is not just one company providing all the robots,” Jungo said, warning that fragmented systems could break down without shared frameworks. This belief also extends beyond robotics.
Many Hats
Across AI, quantum computing, and security, Fujitsu is pushing for collaboration as a necessity rather than a choice. The company has established small research laboratories at universities in Japan and overseas, and continues to expand academic partnerships.
Fujitsu has also helped establish a consortium to address AI-led misinformation, bringing together dozens of companies across markets. The goal is to build shared standards rather than isolated solutions. “Security is not just [about] one company, but we need a standard of collaboration,” Jungo said.
Healthcare is another area where Fujitsu has leaned into partnerships. Last year, the company announced a collaboration with IBM Japan, despite the two firms competing in other domains. Fujitsu leaders said systemic change in healthcare requires more than strong technology.
“Just because you have good technology doesn’t mean you can change the healthcare system,” Jungo added. “These two companies together, we can really change it.”
India as an Intelligence Centre
Fujitsu’s growing research footprint in India reflects a deeper shift in its view of the country. The company now employs around 400 researchers in India, many of whom hold advanced degrees in AI and computing.
“Today, what we see in India is very different, a country that provides the intelligence,” Jungo said. The company stressed that cost is not the primary driver. Instead, Fujitsu values adaptability and problem-solving ability among Indian researchers.
“Focus is not to develop it at a lesser cost,” Toyoda added. “The focus is to capture the goodness in Indian talent.”
Fujitsu is also looking beyond top universities and metro cities into tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the near future, while remaining selective in its hiring. The company does not recruit in bulk, preferring targeted research roles that sit at the intersection of multiple disciplines.
That approach reflects Fujitsu’s long-term philosophy. The company identifies its strength not in stability, but in constant reinvention. “One thing we don’t change is we keep changing,” Toyoda said.
The post Why Fujitsu Thinks Computing Isn’t a Choice Between Quantum or AI appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.
PayPal has partnered with Microsoft to unveil Copilot Checkout. The feature allows users to discover products and complete purchases within Microsoft’s Copilot experience, the companies said in a statement.
The integration enables shoppers to browse curated products and pay using PayPal without leaving Copilot, starting with Copilot.com. PayPal will provide merchant inventory surfacing, branded checkout, guest checkout and credit card payments.
The partnership combines Microsoft’s AI-driven shopping discovery with PayPal’s payments infrastructure. Shoppers can purchase products through PayPal’s store sync, part of its agentic commerce services designed for AI-led shopping journeys.
“Collaborating with Microsoft marks another step forward in our strategy to support merchants and consumers in AI-powered shopping experiences,” said Michelle Gill, general manager of small business and financial services at PayPal, in the statement. “By integrating PayPal’s agentic commerce services with Copilot’s intelligent shopping platform, we are enabling seamless, reliable transactions for both merchants and consumers.”
Microsoft said the integration is intended to reduce friction between discovery and purchase, while opening new channels for merchants. “PayPal’s leadership in commerce, payments and trusted relationships with hundreds of millions of consumers and merchants over 25 years make them an ideal partner,” said Nayna Sheth, head of product for agentic payments at Microsoft.
For retailers, Copilot Checkout provides access to high-intent shoppers who research and buy within a single interface.
Ashley Global Retail is among the early adopters. “As one of the first retailers to embrace agentic commerce, we’ve seen firsthand how AI-powered shopping assistants can transform the customer experience,” said Kyle Dorcas, head of product management at Ashley Global Retail.
According to the companies, journeys involving Copilot lead to 53% more purchases within 30 minutes. Consumers can use multiple funding options, including the PayPal wallet, and PayPal’s buyer and seller protections will cover eligible transactions.
PayPal now plans to extend Copilot Checkout to additional devices and channels where Copilot is available. Merchants interested in participating can sign up through PayPal.ai.
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