AI companies are spending billions to build computing infrastructure, but Indian IT firms could benefit from a different part of the boom: helping businesses actually use artificial intelligence. Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers sees this relatively asset-light model as an opportunity for Indian IT companies, even as the cost of building AI infrastructure raises concerns about financing and future demand.
Anthropic’s latest financial performance shows the scale of AI adoption. The company generated $16.3 billion in revenue in the first half of calendar year 2026, 14 times its revenue a year earlier. Adjusted operating profit reached $1.6 billion, compared with a loss of $1.8 billion in the year-ago period, while free cash flow stood at $3.4 billion.
Yet rapid growth comes with significant obligations. Anthropic has approximately $269 billion in minimum computing-spend commitments and around $321 billion in leases yet to commence.
Anand Rathi said: “The escalating capital intensity, funding requirements & utilisation risks remain concentrated in the infrastructure layer, while Indian IT offers relatively asset-light exposure to the subsequent enterprise deployment cycle, supported by net-cash balance sheets, low capex intensity & strong cash conversion.”
For TCS, Infosys and HCLTech, the opportunity lies in helping companies integrate AI into existing systems, deploy applications and implement solutions across business functions. Enterprises need technology partners to turn AI experimentation into practical applications, potentially creating work for IT service providers and systems integrators.