Buy or be bought: AI raises stakes for mid-cap IT firms

Artificial intelligence (AI) is raising the scale and capability threshold for mid-cap information technology (IT) services companies, potentially triggering a fresh wave of consolidation as firms look at acquiring capabilities, expanding their portfolios and competing for larger transformation deals.

The recent merger of Happiest Minds Technologies with ITC Infotech is an early sign of this shift. Mid-sized IT firms that once competed on agility and niche capabilities are increasingly finding that they need broader offerings, deeper engineering capabilities and greater execution scale to remain relevant as clients consolidate their technology vendors and large IT services companies push deeper into the mid-market.