HCLTech’s USD 1.14 billion AI deal hints at the new outsourcing battleground

HCLTech has announced one of the largest Indian IT services deals of 2026, a USD 1.14 billion strategic partnership with a Europe-headquartered Fortune Global 50 company. The company has not named the client in its regulatory disclosure, but multiple media reports, citing sources, have identified the customer as German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz. The deal, disclosed to the stock exchanges on July 3, 2026, will run from July 2026 to December 2031, with an option to extend it by another five y