No one seems to remember how the Vishal Sikka story ended at Infosys. Because it explains why the company that helped seed OpenAI is now returning Rs 18,000 crore to shareholders instead of betting on AI research.
Infosys learned the hard way what happens when you try to change institutional DNA.
When Sikka came in as the first outsider CEO, he pushed a modernization agenda and tried to bring Silicon Valley DNA to the company. He shifted focus toward AI, automation, and innovation labs. He led the OpenAI grant and even created a $500M venture fund.
But when growth lagged in 2016, Sikka's focus on futuristic bets was seen by some investors as too far from Infosys' bread-and-butter IT services business. Though he had board backing, after an long and ugly public spat with the founders (notably Narayana Murthy), he ultimately resigned.
What's the lesson? Infosys is meant to be a safe IT bellwether stock that anchors every mutual fund and institutional portfolio across India and beyond. You can't just flip a switch and tell your investors that you're suddenly pivoting to high-risk AI moonshots.
This is the case case with every notable IT giant in India.
Now take Alphabet Inc., Tesla or Amazon. They never had to change - they've been moonshot companies since day one. Their investors signed up knowing they'd get growth over dividends, risk over stability. Their investors signed up for that ride.
Infosys investors signed up for stability. The criticism of this buyback comes from armchair commentators like you and me, not the institutional shareholders who actually own the company.
Could Infosys transform into an AI-first research and product company?
Theoretically, yes. But it would mean: > A complete management overhaul > Massive stock repricing > Exodus of conservative investors > Years of volatility
If India wants its own AI champions, they'll have to come from somewhere else - startups with nothing to lose, or perhaps new ventures funded by the dividend proceeds flowing to promoter groups.