India’s top engineering talent is increasingly pursuing an artificial intelligence future, moving away from the traditional IT services strategies that once defined India’s technology workforce.
Vaibhav Singh, a student at IIT Delhi and recently selected as Anthropic’s student ambassador, said AI is not only the next wave of technology but also the safest career bet.
“What I love about Anthropic is that we responsibly develop and deploy advanced AI to help society. The company also focuses on the reliability and safety of its AI systems,” said Singh.
He also feels that working for an AI company is a safer long-term path than joining a traditional IT services company. “Human intelligence is essential when building an AI platform,” he said, exuding confidence that his role within the AI ecosystem will continue to be future-proofed.
Across India’s elite engineering campuses, conversations about career paths increasingly revolve around companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and the new wave of homegrown startups like Sarvam. Once focused on securing roles at established outsourcing giants, students are now considering opportunities in AI labs, research teams, and product-focused technology companies.
This shift also reflects a broader generational shift in how young engineers view work and risk.
“Traditional companies tend to have more mundane roles, so the learning curve can remain constant,” said Sarvam, a 21-year-old employee who previously interned at a major IT services company.
Industry observers also said a new generation of graduates is prioritizing rapid skill development over careers at traditional tech companies.
“Already familiar with AI tools, hackathons, internships, or open source work, graduates from high-performing Tier-2 campuses actively optimize not only their job security but also their speed of skill acquisition,” said Shantanu Rooj, Founder and CEO of TeamLease Edtech. He added that similar trends are being seen among lateral hires from IT services companies looking to transition into AI-driven roles.
Another IIT Bombay student, who requested anonymity, said career choices on campus reflect an individual’s risk appetite.
“Students who are more risk-averse still prefer companies like Infosys and TCS or even Google and Microsoft because they don’t know how long the AI boom will last. But more ambitious students want to take a chance with startups and companies like OpenAI and Anthropic,” the student added.
According to Arindam Mukherjee, co-founder and CEO of NextLeap, interest in AI-first organizations has skyrocketed among young technology professionals over the past 12 to 18 months.
“Today’s graduates want a product environment where AI and machine learning are at the core of building a company,” Mukherjee said. It also promises faster skills development, opportunities to work on global products, and a higher starting salary.
Mukherjee said the changes will be gradual. “Although it is not a large-scale migration at this stage, early signs of a change in direction are clearly visible.”
One of the main reasons employees find Core AI GCC lucrative is compensation.
Global Capability Centers (GCCs), which focus on AI and advanced engineering, consistently offer higher salaries than traditional IT services firms, and the gap in seniority levels is widening, said Anupama Bhimlakha, vice president of marketing at Foundit.
For professionals with 4-6 years of experience, GCC accounts for about 28% of jobs and offers salary packages ranging from 9.11 million rupees to 14.22 million rupees with an average annual salary of 9.11 million rupees. At the senior level, those with 11 to 15 years of experience will receive packages ranging from Rs 25.34 million to Rs 33.67 million per annum, while professionals with more than 15 years of experience will earn between Rs 34.87 million and Rs 58.23 million per year.
In contrast, IT services companies offer lower compensation across most experience ranges. Professionals with 4 to 6 years of experience typically earn between Rs 7.38 million and Rs 12.74 million, while those with 11 to 15 years of experience earn between Rs 18.41 million and Rs 53.12 million.
Entry-level salaries in IT services companies range from 3.43 million rupees to 5.68 million rupees per year, while salaries in GCC countries, where recruitment is more selective, range from 4.23 million rupees to 6.52 million rupees.
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