ServiceNow has dropped a billion-dollar lesson for Indian IT firms at its Knowledge 2025 conference, signaling a clear shift towards AI monetization. The company’s flagship generative AI product, Now Assist, is projected to reach $1 billion in annual contract value by 2026, a massive leap from the current $250 million.
Gina Mastantuono, CFO at ServiceNow, emphasized that AI is now a billion-dollar business line, not just a buzzword. She revealed that some clients have increased spending by 60% after switching to AI-enhanced versions of ServiceNow products. This is a notable shift compared to the Indian IT giants who, despite frequent mentions of AI, have yet to demonstrate real AI monetization.
Since April 23, ServiceNow’s stock has jumped 20%, indicating strong market confidence in its AI-driven future. Analysts expect ServiceNow’s revenue to cross $13 billion in FY2025, outpacing all the major Indian IT firms, including TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, and Wipro.
ServiceNow’s AI Platform is designed to operationalize AI across enterprises. Major companies like Adobe, Visa, and Wells Fargo are using it, underpinned by strong partnerships with Microsoft, NVIDIA, Google, and Oracle. One of the standout technologies is Apriel Nemotron 15B, a new 15-billion-parameter LLM co-developed with NVIDIA for cost-efficient AI inference.
CEO Bill McDermott made it clear that ServiceNow is all in on enterprise AI. Pro Plus deals, which include Now Assist AI products, have quadrupled year-over-year, and McDermott proudly claimed that ServiceNow is leading the AI race because it’s driving it.
Indian IT’s Struggle with AI Monetization
Despite the buzz around AI, Indian IT firms such as TCS, Infosys, and Wipro have been criticized for AI washing—overstating AI involvement without showing substantial revenue impact. TCS claims over 150 agent-based AI solutions, yet its Q4 revenue growth was a meager 0.8%. Similarly, Infosys and Wipro reported large numbers of GenAI projects but disclosed little to no revenue attributed to AI initiatives.
Accenture, in contrast, has $1.4 billion in Generative AI deals, showing transparency in its AI-driven earnings.
What Can Indian IT Learn?
Paul Smith, former ServiceNow president, highlighted a critical mistake many Indian firms make—getting stuck in pilot projects. Instead of running isolated AI pilots, he urged Indian IT to focus on building a platform for AI integration that can scale across the enterprise. He explained that real AI transformation comes from integrating insights directly into business workflows.
Indian firms, particularly HCLTech, are making strides, with 500 GenAI engagements across 400 clients. Tech Mahindra is also pushing AI into core operations but still lacks clarity on the revenue impact.
ServiceNow’s approach offers a crucial lesson for Indian IT: AI is not just a trend or a secondary addition. It’s a core business driver that reshapes products and operations while driving revenue. Indian IT firms need to focus on AI as a scalable, monetizable platform to unlock its true potential.
With ServiceNow on track for $1 billion in AI-related contracts and Accenture already achieving it, the message is clear: AI is not just hype—it’s about growth, innovation, and revenue generation.
