EY's Global Chair and CEO Janet Truncale has confirmed that India operations are increasingly becoming central to the professional services firm's global AI strategy, with more than a quarter of EY's four lakh employees based in the country. As reported by The Times of India, Truncale emphasized the deliberate choice of India, stating that the adoption of technology by EY's workforce here is unlike any other, as they understand it because they're living it - this is a tech hub, right! And it's always been the innovation centre for us. The centre launched on Thursday, the ey.ai Centre for Reimagination (CFR), is designed to help organisations experience how emerging technologies and industry shifts will reshape industries, workforces and business decisions. The facility is part of the company's $1.4 billion investment plan in AI and is designed to connect strategy, sector insight, engineering and execution in an integrated environment.
To bolster its technology backbone, EY has established an AI factory, or centre of excellence, in India alongside one in Palo Alto, California. As reported by Business Standard, EY GDS is the backbone of EY, providing technology and operational services across the organisation. Of EY's 90,000 GDS employees globally, about 75,000 are based in India, while of the company's 30,000 engineers globally, around 27,000 are based in India. The GDS unit is present in eight other countries, including Argentina, Mexico, Poland and the Philippines. The GDS network has grown significantly from approximately 200 people in 2002 to over 80,000 professionals across ten locations worldwide.
According to EY GDS Global Vice-Chairman Ajay Anand, EY plans to deploy 100,000 AI agents by 2028, of which about 50,000 have already been embedded within its systems. As reported by Business Standard, Anand stated that this deployment is unlikely to have a significant impact on hiring, as the company hired 25,000 in GDS last year and has a huge plan to continue hiring this year. He explained that agents will work alongside humans to make them more efficient, though over time adjustments may be needed as AI evolves. Truncale confirmed that EY is using itself as 'client zero', stating the firm has been clear that it must transform its own businesses before advising clients.
The centre spans multiple industries with an initial focus on life sciences, industrial products, consumer products and retail, banking and capital markets, and energy. According to reports from Business Standard, the facility will create highly skilled roles that combine AI engineering with experience design and sector transformation. EY Chairman and CEO Janet Truncale stated that the centre is where strategy meets execution, a space where leaders can test ideas responsibly and define a clear path to scale. The centre also houses EY's innovation specialists who serve GDS Client Service and Enablement Services teams, offering competencies in analytics, digital, user experience, mobile technology, infrastructure, Microsoft technologies and open innovation. As reported by The Times of India, the centre is intended to show clients what AI can do across sectors such as retail, banking, manufacturing, healthcare and life sciences, helping them see how AI can reshape business models, operating models and customer experience.
EY has recently posted a QE – AI Test Manager position in Bengaluru as part of its AI transformation initiatives. The role involves leading quality engineering professionals to define and execute testing strategies for AI models and systems, including Narrow AI, Generative AI, and Agentic AI. According to The Times of India, Truncale emphasized that AI is changing the kind of work employees and consultants do, but said it's in no way reducing the need for junior talent. She stated that every one of EY's businesses is relying on bringing in new skills, new perspectives, kids from college. The biggest example of agentification is EY's audit business, where the firm built a global audit platform, Canvas, a decade ago for its 160,000 clients and more than 100,000 audit professionals, now putting agentic AI on top of that platform. Boards are also asking how they can make decisions using real data and synthetic data, how they should control agents working alongside humans, creating new opportunities for the firm's workforce.
