New Delhi, Feb 16 (NationPress) Indian IT firms are set to prioritize profitability over job creation, as the rise of AI poses significant threats to various sectors, according to former HCL Technologies CEO Vineet Nayyar during his address at the ‘AI Impact Summit 2026’.

During a session on the first day of the summit, Nayyar emphasized the need to grasp that Indian companies, particularly in the IT sector, will be profit-focused. He remarked, “If you think they will generate jobs, you must be dreaming.” The challenge lies in finding ways to foster employment in this shifting landscape, which Nayyar believes can emerge from mass-scale startups that the government is actively promoting.

India stands at third place in the global AI competitiveness, trailing behind the US and China.

Additionally, Mustafa Suleyman, head of artificial intelligence at Microsoft, has recently cautioned that many white-collar jobs reliant on computer usage are at risk of automation within the next 12 to 18 months. He stated that Microsoft is working on a “professional-grade AGI” capable of taking over tasks typically performed by lawyers, accountants, project managers, and marketers.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Suleyman highlighted that the ongoing transformation in the AI landscape may lead to extensive displacement within knowledge-based professions, moving beyond mere productivity improvements.

“Most white-collar roles, whether as a lawyer, accountant, project manager, or marketing professional, will likely be fully automated by AI in the coming 12 to 18 months,” Suleyman was quoted as saying.

On another front, US tech giant Oracle is planning to eliminate between 20,000 to 30,000 jobs to enhance its AI data center capacity, while Amazon has recently disclosed layoffs of 16,000 employees as part of its AI restructuring strategy.

It’s important to note that globally, software stocks, including those of Indian IT companies, have faced significant downturns since US AI firm Anthropic unveiled its enterprise AI assistant designed to automate entire business workflows.

Investor apprehension regarding AI’s potential to replace substantial portions of the software industry has triggered a massive sell-off known as the “SaaSpocalypse.”

The newly developed AI assistant could automate various functions, including legal document reviews, compliance checks, sales planning, marketing campaign analysis, financial reconciliation, data visualization, SQL-based reporting, and enterprise-wide document searches.