Leading IT solution provider Mphasis is witnessing a robust increase in demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-led solutions as enterprises globally pivot towards efficiency-driven investments, according to its CEO, Nitin Rakesh.The adoption of AI underpins the company's aim for achieving 14.75% to 15.75% Ebit margin in FY26, as per CFO Aravind Viswanathan.“We've got a stated range of operating margins between 14.75% and 15.75%. Usually, deals, as we scale up and accelerate growth, are a tailwind for margins. AI is an evolving world. You need a different scale of talent for AI, but it is also a margin lever,” Viswanathan told NDTV Profit. Rakesh noted that enterprises are increasingly prioritising AI strategies to achieve 20-25% efficiency gains, reducing reliance on additional headcount. He explained that the era of blanket budgets for IT projects is over. In its place is a more rigorous, programme-by-programme approval process where the return on investment (ROI) is paramount.“Every enterprise is now looking at AI and saying, okay, where is my efficiency? We really don't need to add more headcount. We should find 20-25% efficiency through the use of these tools. Every deal has to have an element of efficiency and savings in there,” the CEO emphasised. This shift comes as companies are transitioning from experimentation to integrating AI into their core operations, three years after the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.'Moving Faster Than Schedule': IRFC CMD On Rs 30,000-Crore Loan Disbursement Target In FY26Mphasis reported its highest ever Total Contract Value (TCV) wins of $760 million (about Rs 6,579 crore) in Q1FY26, of which 68% is AI-driven. The CEO attributed this to the company’s ability to bundle AI into its offerings, particularly in areas like cloud adoption, data platforms and application modernisation. “The common theme is the ability to bundle AI into those propositions and create those ROIs cases and the price-to-value cases that clients are looking for,” according to Rakesh. Addressing the changing talent dynamics, the CEO emphasised the importance of foundational technical skills, such as Java and .NET, alongside a strong learning ability.He noted that the current AI market demands not just talent but “talent plus plus”: a combination of skilled professionals and innovative tech solutions.“Clients are now demanding that we show them how we are going to drive efficiency. We are going up the value chain and moving away from just people-based IT services to tech solutions-based IT services that include people,” he said. Mphasis shares were trading 0.83% lower at Rs 2,631.6 apiece on the NSE at 1:30 p.m., compared to a 0.84% drop in the benchmark Nifty50 at 24,851.75.. Read more on Earnings by NDTV Profit.