FDES INDIA

AI could wipe out $200 billion of IT services work by 2030: BCG

BCG’s Sreyssha George says Indian IT firms will have to rethink how they price work, hire freshers and pay AI talent, as clients move from paying for headcount to paying for outcomes.

88% Indian firms want FDEs by 2030; only 1% of engineers fit the bill: Scaler-CMR report

According to India's FDE Opportunity Report, enterprises are hiring for AI deployment and customer-facing skills, but those are the skills engineers lack most.

58% of engineers want FDE roles, but 90% lack upskilling roadmap: Report

A report reveals that nearly 58 percent of engineers desire to transition into forward-deployed engineering roles. Despite this interest, nine in ten engineers are not aware of pathways for upskilling. Furthermore, most engineers feel unclear about the FDE role and career advancement opportunities. Indian enterprises are anticipating a growing demand for FDEs by 2030, particularly in multinational companies.

Software majors add more hands in Q2 on deal wins, growth optimism

Data showed the top six had added a net 5,500 to their rolls in the April-June quarter. Employee data of Infosys, the country’s second-largest software exporter, isn’t included in these calculations as the company is due to announce earnings on October 23 and hasn’t shared its latest manpower data.

Don’t build your career around a tool that may not survive: Oracle’s Sanjeev Chauhan

Oracle’s cloud engineering head says AI is taking over routine infrastructure work, and engineers will need to move from tuning individual systems to designing how entire systems work together.

ElevenLabs deepens India push, targets all 22 Indian languages on its voice AI platform: cofounder Mati Staniszewski

The company currently supports 14 Indian languages on its latest text-to-speech (TTS) model, Eleven V4, which was launched last week, Mati Staniszewski, cofounder and CEO of ElevenLabs, said at the company’s Bengaluru Summit on October 6.

Go To Page 1 GCCs build FDE chops in-house to claw back millions in AI spendsThe shift could see GCCs bring $200-300 million worth of FDE-style consulting work in-house across the top 50 mature centres, a report called “WHO has the FDE talent and what it costs” by UnearthInsight, a market intelligence platform estimated.Deliveries over deployment: IT firms must reassess AI integration as pricing pressures rise, says BCGBCG analysed more than 40 technology services providers and over 100 brand positioning claims across their websites, earnings calls and investor presentations and found more than 90% were talking about the same core themes.Employees have to get on the AI train and go where it takes them: KFintech CTOKFintech embraces artificial intelligence across its operations and workforce. The company utilizes various large language models for different business functions. An in-house AI Gateway manages employee access to these advanced tools. Hiring now emphasises system design and security over basic coding skills. This strategic shift drives significant improvements in product development timelines.A new army of forward deployed engineers are rewriting the playbook at Indian IT services companiesEveryone wants FDEs, but where are these specialised engineers? IT firms turn to reskilling & adjacent talent pools as FDE demand outpaces supply, writes Shristi Achar.FDEs command a king’s ransomUnearthInsight estimates that FDE salaries in India carry a 30-60% premium over conventional engineering bands. Globally, FDEs receive a 15-20% premium over internal product engineers. Shristi Achar brings out the key numbers!Semicon 2.0 takes shape; Zomato’s Hyderabad layoffsThe government has notified Semicon 2.0 to boost India’s semiconductor ecosystem. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.Big Tech can’t disrupt IT: Tech Mahindra CEO Mohit JoshiChief executive Mohit Joshi said that he isn’t concerned about Big Tech firms like Google or AI labs like Anthropic or OpenAI getting into AI services by hiring forward deployment engineers (FDEs), as he feels the IT industry's cost structures and the models it operates on are vastly different and hard to imitate.IT needs forward deployed leadership on the front lines to navigate AI resetAs AI now rewrites the IT business algorithm beyond recognition, Indian technology pureplays have responded with a talent reshuffle that's cascading beyond the corner-room down to the very verticals tasked with bringing home the money.Ola Electric Q1 loss narrows; Swiggy makes amendsOla Electric posted an improved June-quarter performance as deliveries picked up. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.Enterprise AI startup Wonderful plans to hire up to 1,000 forward-deployed engineers in IndiaLalazar said the company is approaching $100 million in annualised revenue, with headcount spread across more than 35 countries and set to cross 1,000 globally by the end of the year. It has raised about $280 million to date from the likes of Index Ventures, with participation from Insight Partners, IVP, Bessemer and Vine Ventures.AI blows up IT playbook: Lines between AI labs and IT services firms start to blurThe enterprise services business they have dominated for decades is beginning to see a new breed of rival. OpenAI and Anthropic are no longer just building artificial intelligence models. They are moving into enterprise implementation, consulting and workflow redesign, armed with an army of Forward Deployment Engineers (FDE). And, another set of ‘AI-native services firms’ is adding to the competition.Tax project delay hurt Q1 results, AI-led deflation behind us, says LTM’s LambuFinancial services and technology, which together account for 57% of revenue for India’s sixth largest IT service firm, each grew more than 3% sequentially in the first quarter. With this, Lambu said, LTM expects the artificial intelligence-led revenue deflation to be behind the firm.ETtech Q&A | TCS sees better Q2 show on stressed sectors’ turnaroundMacroeconomic uncertainties due to the West Asia conflict have led to project deferrals in key verticals at Tata Consultancy Services, which reported flat sequential growth and a 13.9% rise on year in rupee terms. India's largest software services firm expects the second quarter to be better with some stressed sectors returning to positivity and a growing AI deal pipeline of $2.6 billion, chief executive K Krithivasan and chief operating officer Aarthi Subramanian told Himanshi Lohchab in an interview. Edited excerpts:Tata Consultancy Services plans up to 8,900 AI deployment engineers, seeks AI acquisitionsTata Consultancy Services is building a large team of forward-deployed engineers. The company is also actively seeking artificial intelligence acquisitions. This strategy aims to create new business opportunities rather than disrupt outsourcing. TCS believes deep client knowledge is key to integrating and deploying AI systems. The firm is investing significantly in talent development and AI accessibility.L’Oréal acquires Innovist in big D2C deal; Dhan’s FY26 profit shrinksL’Oréal has bought Innovist to claw back momentum in India’s hyper-competitive beauty market. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.Uber CEO on Travis Kalanick; Micron’s warning to IndiaDara Khosrowshahi told ET in an interaction that Uber is open to collaborating with founder Travis Kalanick. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.FDE emerges hottest role in AI market, commands big pay premiumThe forward deployed engineer (FDE) has emerged as the hottest job in AI, with companies like OpenAI and Google offering substantial compensation. These consultants are crucial for deploying AI agents and identifying high-impact use cases within organizations.Infosys, TCS, HCLTech shares tumble 5% to fresh 52-week lows; Nifty IT crashes 4%. What’s spooking investors?Indian IT stocks tumbled sharply as Infosys, TCS, HCLTech and others fell up to 5%, dragging the Nifty IT index down 3%. The selloff followed OpenAI’s launch of its Deployment Company, renewing fears of accelerated AI-led disruption. Weak sentiment persisted despite a record-high Wall Street rally and a weaker rupee.Signals for 2026: Spotting the shifts before they become headlinesFor Indian startups, 2026 will be an inflection point where experiments of the years past create systems on which the future is built. There are patterns across data, founder behaviour, and market structure, elevated by the evolution of AI, that point to this.Load More