Why Happiest Minds sees AI tools like Anthropic as an opportunity, not a threat

Even as new-age generative AI platforms such as Anthropic trigger fresh concerns about the future of the Indian IT services industry, Happiest Minds says the technology is expanding the market rather than shrinking it. The company believes that, far from replacing IT services, powerful AI tools will increase enterprise demand for integration, modernisation and large-scale transformation.

Speaking at a press conference to announce its brand repositioning to an “AI First” strategy, Executive Chairman Ashok Soota said the growing noise around AI-led disruption was misplaced. “This is not a threat, but an opportunity—for us and perhaps for others in the IT services space,” he said, referring to recent announcements by AI platform companies.

Happiest Minds’ AI First initiative becomes the company’s 11th strategic programme and is supported by 11 defined sub-programmes aimed at expanding market share.

What differentiates the current AI cycle, according to the company, is not the novelty of models but the shift in enterprise behaviour. Customers are moving decisively beyond pilots and proofs of concept.

A key growth driver has been the company’s Generative Business Services (GBS) division, which posted nearly 50% quarter-on-quarter growth as customers moved AI programmes into production. The unit also turned profitable during the quarter, marking a significant inflection point.

According to Sridhar Mantha, CEO of Generative AI Business Services (GBS) at Happiest Minds, the company has 32 Generative AI and Agentic AI use cases that have successfully moved beyond prototypes, many of which are scaling into full projects with the potential to be replicated across dozens of accounts in multiple verticals.

Central to Happiest Minds’ strategy is a human-plus-agent delivery model, where AI agents work alongside developers rather than replacing them. This approach, particularly in legacy modernisation, helps enterprises reduce technology debt faster and with lower execution risk.

In that context, tools from players like Anthropic are seen as expanding, not shrinking, the services opportunity. As AI becomes embedded across enterprises, complexity around integration, governance, security and transformation only increases, creating fresh demand for partners who can make AI work at scale.