# AI drives nearly half of Indian IT M&A deals in two fiscals 2026-08-21T15:32:55+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Nearly half of the mergers and acquisitions by Indian IT companies in the past two financial years were driven by the need to acquire AI and allied capabilities, according to a Crisil Ratings report. The report assessed around 90 M&A deals and found that AI has become a strategic acquisition trigger, moving from experimentation to a boardroom priority. Crisil said acquisitions are used to compress capability-building cycles, with over 70 per cent of targets based in the US and Europe. Separately, rediff.com reports that Indian IT firms are seeing an uptick in outcome-based pricing contracts, driven by AI. TCS said it sees a shift toward outcome-based commitments, especially in agentic GBS. Cognizant signs 45 per cent of its BPO contracts under this model. Infosys, however, has not yet seen a significant increase in such deals despite stronger client interest. Outcome-based pricing charges clients for actual usage or results, contrasting with traditional time-and-material models. Crisil noted that the acquisitions have not materially weakened balance sheets, as most were funded through internal accruals or share swaps. Key transactions include Coforge's $2.35 billion acquisition of Encora and TCS's $700 million acquisition of Coastal Cloud. Crisil said the eventual impact depends on successful integration, talent retention, and monetisation of AI capabilities. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Crisil's report frames the AI-driven M&A wave as a disciplined, strategic shift that strengthens IT companies without harming credit profiles, emphasising deal discipline and cash funding. Rediff.com's coverage of outcome-based pricing highlights that while TCS and Cognizant are embracing the model, Infosys remains cautious, and overall revenue from such deals is still small. The two reports together show that Indian IT is aggressively acquiring AI capability but is still experimenting with how to price AI-led services. The middle ground is that inorganic moves are accelerating AI readiness, but pricing models remain a work in progress. Watch for how Infosys responds in the coming quarters, as client interest may push it toward more outcome-based deals. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straightforward report of Crisil Ratings data and executive quotes, no added commentary or slant. - rediff.com (neutral report) Presents company statements on pricing shifts with balance, noting both adoption and caution. This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-21T22:01:48+00:00. Tags: Coforge, Crisil Ratings, Encora, Infosys, TCS, Wipro Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ai-drives-nearly-half-of-indian-it-ma-deals-crisil/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ai-drives-nearly-half-of-indian-it-ma-deals-crisil/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/