No recession-led slowdown, expect to deliver double-digit growth: Happiest Minds’ Ashok Soota

Mid-size IT services firm Happiest Minds expects to deliver a “healthy double-digit growth” in FY26 and FY27, said Chairman and Chief Mentor Ashok Soota. Soota was speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the company’s recent high-level executive appointments, which included instating Joseph Anantharaju as the CEO and the Co-chairman of the Bengaluru-headquartered firm.

“The year FY25 is witnessing flat growth for some of the majors and negative growth for a few others. We have delivered a healthy double-digit growth, albeit most of it is inorganic. The market is predicting a US slowdown or recession. This has clouded the prospects for the Indian IT industry. We want to state emphatically that at Happiest Minds, we see no recession-driven slowdown,” said Soota. 

In FY25, the company undertook several transformational initiatives, such as reorganising into five new industry groups (IG), creating an independent business unit for generative AI, and making important executive appointments. Going forward, the company will be developing a private equity company ecosystem and their portfolio companies; address GCC companies’ requirements; and create a large accounts focus strategy which will take about 10 – 15 of $2-3-million-dollar accounts and raise them to $10, $15 and $20 million.

The company believes that these transformation strategies along with Happiest Minds’ acquisition of PureSoftware and Aureus give a good view ahead for the next two years. 

Notably, Happiest Minds announced its ambitious goal of achieving $1 billion in revenue by 2031 in September 2021. 

Strategy going forward

Elaborating further, newly-appointed CEO Anantharaju said that Happiest Minds is strategically deepening its engagement with PE firms and portfolio companies, offerings including due diligence, post-acquisition roadmaps, security, tech modernisation, GenAI, and M&A integration.

The company is also focusing on GCCs, guiding new entrants on strategy and scaling while enhancing efficiency, innovation, and modernisation for established centers. This targeted approach strengthens Happiest Minds’ market position, he added.

“Our engagement with GCCs has grown 2–3x and is expected to sustain. So far, we've operated profitably in areas of strength, but maintaining and expanding this momentum requires a clear strategy. Without it, efforts will remain ad hoc and strain organisational bandwidth,” he told TechCircle.

“A company-wide approach is needed to incentivise teams and reinforce GCCs as a strategic priority. While we haven’t yet defined vertical focus, we are developing a playbook as part of execution. Our strategy will span both size and industry verticals, ensuring a structured and scalable approach to capitalising on this growing opportunity.”

Further, the company will continue to focus on M&As. “This will include both exploring new opportunities and ensuring the successful integration of the ones we've already undertaken, and I anticipate dedicating considerable time and effort toward these,” said Venkat Narayanan, chief financial officer. He added that the company already has a good pipeline of M&A prospects.

GenAI strategy

Happiest Minds has established a dedicated Generative AI Business Services (GBS) unit to deliver comprehensive Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions across various domains. It by Sridhar Mantha, the company's EVP & CTO, now serving as President & CEO of GBS.

Speaking with TechCircle, Anantharaju said that many customers are transitioning beyond idea and proof of concept stage. 

“So far, we’ve completed 25–30 POCs demonstrations to our customers. Many GenAI components range from $250K to $500K, often driving additional pull-through revenue—creating a significant advantage in expanding customer engagement and deal value.”