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India’s top engineering talent is increasingly pursuing a future in artificial intelligence, shifting away from the traditional IT services playbook that once defined the country’s tech workforce.
Vaibhav Singh, a student at IIT Delhi who was recently selected as a student ambassador at Anthropic, said AI is not just the next technological wave but also the safest career bet.
“What I like about Anthropic is that it’s responsibly developing and deploying advanced AI to help society. The company also focuses on the reliability and safety of the AI system,” said Singh.
For him, working at an AI company also feels like a more secure long-term path than joining a conventional IT services firm. “Human intelligence is indispensable when you are building an AI platform,” and exuded confidence that roles within the AI ecosystem will remain future-proof.
Across India’s elite engineering campuses, conversations about career paths are increasingly revolving around companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and a new wave of domestic startups like Sarvam. Students who once focused on landing roles at established outsourcing giants are now weighing opportunities in AI labs, research teams, and product-focused technology companies.
This change also reflects a broader generational shift in how young engineers view work and risk.
“Traditional firms tend to have more routine roles, and the learning curve can stay constant,” said a 21-year-old Sarvam employee who previously interned at a large IT services company.
Industry observers also said that the new generation of graduates is prioritizing rapid skill development over careers at legacy tech firms.
“Tier-1 and high-performing Tier-2 campus graduates who already have exposure to AI tools, hackathons, internships, or open-source work are actively optimising for skill velocity, not just job security,” said Shantanu Rooj, founder and CEO of TeamLease Edtech. The same trend, he added, is also visible among lateral hires from IT services firms looking to transition into AI-led roles.
Another IIT Bombay student, who requested anonymity, said that career choices on campus are a reflection of an individual’s risk appetite.
“Students who are more risk-averse still prefer companies like Infosys, TCS, or even Google and Microsoft because they are unsure how long the AI boom will last,” the student added, “However, the more ambitious ones are willing to take the chance with startups or companies like OpenAI and Anthropic”.
Over the past 12-18 months, interest in AI-first organisations has grown sharply among early-career technical professionals, according to Arindam Mukherjee, co-founder and CEO of NextLeap.
“Graduates today are looking for product environments where AI and machine learning are core to what the company builds,” Mukherjee said. They are also drawn by faster skill accumulation, opportunities to work on global products, and the promise of higher starting salaries.
Mukherjee said the shift is gradual. “At this stage, we would not call it a mass migration, but early signals of a directional shift are clearly visible”.
One of the main reasons why employees are finding core AI GCCs lucrative is the compensation .
According to Anupama Bhimrajka, vice president of marketing at Foundit, global capability centres (GCCs) focused on AI and advanced engineering are offering consistently higher salaries than traditional IT services firms, with the gap widening at the seniority level.
For professionals with four to six years of experience, GCCs account for roughly 28% of hiring and offer average salary packages ranging from Rs 9.11 lakh to Rs 14.22 lakh per annum. At the senior level, those with 11 to 15 years of experience receive packages ranging from Rs 25.34 lakh to Rs 33.67 lakh annually, while professionals with more than 15 years of experience earn between Rs 34.87 lakh and Rs 58.23 lakh annually.
In contrast, IT services companies offer lower compensation across most experience bands. Professionals with four to six years of experience typically earn between Rs 7.38 lakh and Rs 12.74 lakh annually, while those with 11 to 15 years of experience see packages ranging from Rs 18.41 lakh to Rs 53.12 lakh.
At entry-level jobs, salaries in IT services firms range from Rs 3.43 lakh to Rs 5.68 lakh per annum, compared with Rs 4.23 lakh to Rs 6.52 lakh offered by GCCs, where hiring is more selective.
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