big Tech’s Strategic โShift to AI Fuels Optimism Despite Job Cuts
Big tech companies are increasingly โคfocusingโค on artificial intelligence (AI) as aโค key driver of future growth,even as they navigate periods of job cuts. Despite initial investor skepticism surrounding the relatively new technology, these companies have maintained, and in some cases improved, their financial performance, a trend reflected โคin recent stock market activity.
Analysts are observing early indications of a meaningful strategic shift within the industry. “The markets have begunโ to senseโ thisโ AI-powered shift. Analysts are picking up โคearly signals of a strategic turn, and stock prices have started โขto inch upward in anticipation. Yet the real re-rating will come only when theseโค companies can prove that intent translates into impact,” explained Dr. Vikas Singh, adjunct professor at โthe Indian Institute of Public Management, and co-founder of Crux Management Services Pvtโค Ltd.
Dr. Singh emphasized the โคimportance of demonstrableโข results. “The test will be in margins, deal composition, and the kind of projects theyโข pursue -โ notโ in rhetoricโ or roadshows. โinvestors will look for evidence thatโฃ new investmentsโข in AI partnerships, automation, and proprietary platforms are adding measurable value. If these shifts begin to reflect in profit numbers over the next โtwo or โthree quarters, โthe market’s faith will harden intoโฃ conviction. Until then,optimism โremains penciled in ratherโ than inked.”
Professor Dhananjay Sahu, faculty of commerceโฃ at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), believes the profits generated by AI will be sustainable.”The profits driven from AI will sustain,โข given the magnitude of โคthe useโฃ of AI in high-frequency โขtrading, robotics, machine learning, etc. AI is the future. AI โฃwill drive the financial โstate of affairs providedโ that the stock market is concerned,” he stated.
However, professor โSahu alsoโ highlighted the unique challenges facingโ the Indian stock market. he noted the significant influence of foreign institutional investment and the โคneed for India to invest โฃheavily โคin AI to create a more competitive landscape. โค”In the US, AI is largely seen โas โa cost-cutting strategy, andโ automation is promoted.But in our country, the demography is different, and India will have to invest heavily in AI to have a level playing field,” he said.
Professor Sahu further suggested a need to improve the skills of Indian stock traders. He believes American traders possess a strongerโ technical understanding, contributing to more rationalโ market behavior. “Stock markets in the US, Iโ believe, are โฃrational.โ The traders there are moreโข technically sound and able than the ones here in India. In markets like the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange โ(BSE), people have a very โคfragile โknowledge โabout โคtheโ stock market, which is why Indian โmarkets generate ‘abnormalโค returns’, meaning โคthey offer returns that areโ over and above the average return rate.”
Heโ cautioned that while AI provides valuable information, it cannot replicate human intuition. “In AI trading,โค behavioural dynamics/finance โaren’t frequently enough addressed.โ AI’s information can be ambiguous,depending on โthe data fed to it; AI simply โcan’t โคstudy the human brain.โข That’s why traders must be vigilant.”
