HCLTech deepens AI push with expanded Guardian partnership
HCLTech AI partnership with Guardian expands via a seven-year deal and India GCC acquisition, targeting faster modernisation and better customer outcomes.
HCLTech is deepening its push into AI-powered enterprise transformation. The IT services company has announced an expanded seven-year partnership with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a move that combines long-term AI collaboration with the acquisition of Guardian's India global capability centre (GCC).
The agreement marks one of HCLTech's biggest recent bets on AI-led insurance transformation, strengthening its delivery capabilities while helping Guardian modernise its technology and business operations.
A bigger AI role for HCLTech
Under the expanded partnership, HCLTech will deploy its AI Force platform to accelerate Guardian's digital transformation. AI Force is the company's AI-powered service platform designed to automate workflows, improve engineering productivity and enable agentic AI, where AI systems can perform tasks with greater autonomy.
The platform will support modernisation across Guardian's applications, data infrastructure and engineering operations, to improve efficiency while speeding up technology delivery.
HCLTech to acquire Guardian's India GCC
A key part of the agreement involves HCLTech acquiring Guardian India, the insurer's global capability centre. Nearly 2,000 employees will transition to HCLTech and become part of a dedicated Strategic Business Unit led by Karunakaran Azhisur.
According to reports, the acquisition is valued at around $10.5 million. The move expands HCLTech's insurance delivery capabilities while giving Guardian continued access to specialised technology talent through a long-term strategic partnership.
Strengthening AI across the insurance business
The partnership is expected to help Guardian integrate AI across several core business areas, including group benefits, individual insurance, retirement planning and wealth management.
Beyond improving operational efficiency, both companies aim to enhance customer experiences, strengthen support for financial advisors and accelerate product innovation. For HCLTech, the collaboration also creates opportunities to co-develop AI solutions and intellectual property tailored for the insurance sector.
Investors respond positively
The announcement was well received by the market. On July 17, 2026, HCLTech shares rose 2.46% to Rs 1,204.30 following the news. The partnership also comes on the back of strong financial performance.
In the first quarter of FY27, HCLTech reported a 20.3% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,624 crore, while revenue from operations reached Rs 34,579 crore. In dollar terms, quarterly revenue stood at $3.65 billion.
What comes next
The success of the expanded partnership will depend on how effectively HCLTech integrates Guardian India and scales AI-driven solutions across the insurer's operations.
As enterprises increasingly adopt agentic AI, the collaboration reflects a broader shift in the IT services industry, where long-term partnerships are evolving beyond traditional outsourcing towards co-creating AI-powered business transformation.