The rise of AI-native GCCs: Building the next generation of GCCs

By Venkat Lakshminarasimha – Executive Director, DISC, Solutions and Sales- India & Middle East at Dexian

Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are entering a new era. While previously set up to lower costs in fields like technology, finance, operations, and back-office services, GCCs have become sources of innovation.

Now we are witnessing the emergence of AI-native GCCs, which are centers built specifically around artificial intelligence, automated data processing, and product engineering. India plays a significant role in this change. The Zinnov-Nasscom GCC Landscape 2026 report states that the country has 2,117 GCCs, which employ around 2.36 million people and bring around $98.4 billion of revenue. Additionally, the document also mentions the expanding importance of GCCs in terms of AI-oriented projects, platforms, and business technology management.

From Service Centers to Drivers of Innovation
The classic GCC model has always been based on scale. Corporations have been establishing massive teams in India to carry out processes defined globally at better efficiency. However, this model has been rapidly changing. In present times, GCCs are being entrusted with product development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, research and development, and global platforms. The latest trends show the gradual transition to the model of small specialized teams that focus on engineering excellence rather than population growth. AI is speeding up this process. AI-native GCCs are not regular centers that have just implemented several innovative technologies. Instead, they are organizations whose processes, people, architecture, and decision-making systems revolve around the use of AI.

What Defines an AI-Native GCC?
The difference is in how deeply AI is incorporated into the functioning model.

An AI-native GCC integrates teams of data specialists, AI engineers, software developers, domain experts, product managers and cyber security specialists. They neither treat AI as a separate technological function nor limit its use to any specific part of the enterprise. It covers everything, including customer intelligence, fraud detection, supply chain management, software development, and employee productivity.

This trend is already visible on the Indian GCC market. According to research by the Infosys Knowledge Institute, almost all GCCs polled in the survey have adopted AI, with 71% using it for generative purposes. Nevertheless, only 27% of respondents stated that the use of AI helped them achieve tangible results. This indicates that there is a huge gap between trying to apply AI and true AI transformation.

Talent is the new competitive edge
AI-native GCCs will require new approaches to talent management. Traditional employment schemes relied on recruiting a great number of engineers and operation specialists. The new approaches will focus on expertise in the areas of machine learning, cloud infrastructures, AI systems, data engineering, model management, cybersecurity, business management, and ethically responsible AI application. However, the challenge is that AI knowledge is now very unequal among GCC leaders. A recent PwC India-FICCI survey estimated that 90% of GCC leaders expect AI-driven growth by 2030, while only 27% of respondents are confident in their sufficient knowledge of AI.

Ownership Cyclone
By having a company own the whole process, GCCs will transform, moving away from project-keeping towards product-keeping. Instead of implementing pre-planned projects given by multinational headquarters, advanced GCCs will obtain ownership of products, platforms, and intellectual property from the start up to the full implementation of project outputs. This results in giving the local groups more responsibility and influencing their strategies on global technology rollout. This transition has already started in India, where GCCs are investing into owning AI systems, platforms, and enterprise applications globally. For multinational companies, being close to Indian tech talents will provide an efficient feedback loop: local GCCs can conduct experiments fast and globally-owned GCCs can scale them up to big enterprises.

Agentic AI Will Fuel New Possibilities
The new development is expected to use the capabilities of Agentic AI which should be viewed in the context of a framework capable of performing multi-step procedures from beginning to end without human assistance.

The new introduction can change the operations of GCCs. Instead of a human using an AI assistant for one particular task, an AI agent may now be in charge of a whole process in various applications, data gathering and processing, offering recommendations, and making decisions requiring human input. As for Accenture’s research, it suggests that leading GCCs have already started promoting the implementation of AI and robotization solutions; in addition, many of them will invest in the development of agentic AI within a couple of years. This will result in GCCs turning into laboratories of enterprise automation in the world.

Governance Needs to Develop Along with Innovation
Nonetheless, AI native means AI with limits. Since GCCs are taking on more roles regarding enterprise AI, they need to take on the roles of data confidentiality, cybersecurity, governance of models, compliance and making ethical decisions. AI is operating on a global level and needs a high level of governance.

This is important since GCC is approaching the strategic core of the enterprise. Only organizations able to combine sophisticated innovation and the responsible system of governance will win. Thus, the new GCCs will be defined by intellectual ownership and AI maturity rather than the head count. India has a veritable base of talents, technologies and its developing GCCs to take the leading position in this process.

However, the right approach will require companies to rethink the reasons for GCCs appearance. The question is not whether GCC has the opportunity to use AI technology. The question is if the GCC is able to work, build and create business value thanks to AI technology. AI native GCCs are going to be a new model rather than just a new technology center where engineering converges with strategy and innovation.