Shares of India’s IT exporters slid sharply on Wednesday, with the NIFTY IT index falling 6.3% as investors reacted to AI-driven disruption risks sweeping the global software industry.
The decline followed the launch of new plug-ins by Anthropic for its Claude Cowork agent, tools designed to automate tasks across legal, sales, marketing, and data analysis. The announcement triggered a broader selloff in U.S. and European software stocks and intensified concerns in India’s $283 billion IT services industry.
India’s sector relies heavily on a staffing-intensive model, deploying large teams to execute client projects. Automation at scale threatens that approach by reducing the need for manpower-driven delivery and compressing margins.
The IT sub-index was on track for its worst session since March 2020, with all 10 constituents trading lower. Infosys led losses, tumbling 7.3% on the day.
Other major players also fell sharply. Tata Consultancy Services dropped 5.8%, Wipro declined 3.9%, and HCLTech slid 5.1%.
“As Indian enterprises integrate Claude into critical coding workflows, reliance on large vendor teams could decline, squeezing billable hours and profitability,” said Ambrish Shah, an analyst at Systematix Group.
Anthropic’s advances also raise longer-term risks for India’s IT talent pipeline. Analysts warn that entry-level roles—particularly in routine development and testing—are most exposed, underscoring how rapidly evolving AI tools could reshape employment across the sector.
