- Nandan Nilekani said tariffs are driving businesses to diversify supply chains amid shifting trade routes
- Infosys has trained over 275,000 employees in AI and is increasing AI innovation investment, he said
- Energy transition adds uncertainty, relying on advances in solar, wind, battery, and nuclear, he said
Infosys Ltd chairman Nandan Nilekani has expressed concern over unprecedented global uncertainties arising from the ongoing tariff war, the increased use of artificial intelligence, and energy transition.
The tariffs are pushing the businesses to de-risk sourcing, Mr Nilekani said at Infosys' 44th annual general meeting (AGM), highlighting a need to accelerate supply-chain diversification as bilateral and regional trade routes emerge as dominant forces.
"Look around us, there's a perfect storm of multiple colliding trends that is raging. Clearly, the world is shifting from a single global market to fragmented blocks, forcing companies to make strategic choices and navigate between regions," he added.
Speaking about AI's impact on the workforce, Mr Nilekani underscored the uncertainty posed by artificial intelligence. But as a digital-based firm, he said, Infosys sees AI as driving the cultural and operational shifts across the workforce.
"Legacy system modernisation and data architecture overhaul to ensure all the firm's data is consumable by AI are becoming increasingly unavoidable. Companies need both: AI foundries for innovation and AI factories for scaling," he said.
Over 2.75 lakh employees at Infosys are currently trained in AI, and the company is investing more in AI-related innovation, shared the business leader.
Besides AI, Mr Nilekani said that energy transition added another layer of uncertainty, with the shift depending on the innovation in solar, wind, battery, nuclear, and hydrogen technologies.
"Every type of business in every part of the world is having to first adapt to rapidly changing business and technological disruption before advancing into an uncertain and unfamiliar future," he added.
