AI has the potential to wipe out Indian IT services and BPO sector by 2030: Vinod Khosla

At a time when all eyes are on Indian IT services industry and its potential to survive the AI era, Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla said that India may be underestimating the impact of AI on IT services, and by 2030, the sector in its current form may not even exist.

“It’s clear to me that people in India don’t believe that the whole idea of IT services will go away. By 2030, there will be no such thing as IT services. There will be no such thing as BPO. Those are gone,” Khosla said, while speaking at a fireside chat in the AI Impact Summit here.

“There will be new kinds of services based on AI that Indian companies can form and bring to the rest of the world, because India has the best engineers, the best talent and education,” he added. There will be disruptions, and the industry has to make the transition, he noted.

He also went a step ahead to question whether people will even need any jobs in the future. “The question you have to ask is, will anybody need jobs? think by 2050, it will be very clear nobody needs jobs. Because production of goods and services [will become] near free, so you won’t need jobs,” he said. People will do jobs, but they will have much more time to spend with their kids, with their parents, and pursue their passion, he added.

Speaking about how India should adapt to the changing employment situation, Khosla said that the general view is that action of AI will be very different in different countries, and it will be guided by politics. “Politics, not a technical capability, will be the key determinant of what is adapted and what’s not adapted,” he said.

He also lauded India’s policy decisions and investments around promoting sovereign AI. “They are [Indian government] doing the right thing. “The idea of a sovereign model is a very good idea. In fact, I’ve long believed countries should have sovereign AI,” he said.

He highlighted how AI can transform India when it comes to education, agriculture, healthcare, legal services, entertainment industry and improve public transit. “It’s possible to provide every Indian child an AI personal tutor. That would be far better than if they could afford to pay for a human tutor,” he said.

Commenting on the AI Impact Summit, he said that the unprecedented interest in the event is likely to create more interest and awareness among the people, and lead to more to participate in the AI economy.

Published on February 17, 2026