Why US Companies Build AI Teams in India: GCC and Software Export Statistics

Summarize with AI ChatGPT Claude Perplexity Grok Gemini

Why Do US Companies Build AI Teams in India?

US companies build AI teams in India because the country pairs a very large, US-facing software export base with an established model for running company-owned engineering centres. India's software services exports reached US$221.4 billion in 2025-26, 54.1% of them went to the US, and 2,117 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) now operate there, including centres run by 506 Forbes Global 2000 firms.

If you want the operating side first, read how AI-first teams in India differ from traditional outsourcing, how offshore AI teams work and what an AI engineering partner is. Then come back for the data.

A Global Capability Centre is a company-owned team in India that does engineering, data or operations work for its parent company. This page collects the primary numbers behind the trend, shows where each one comes from and says plainly where the data stops.

One note on terms. In some search results "GCC" means the Gulf Cooperation Council. Here it always means Global Capability Centre, which some sources call a captive centre.

What Are the Numbers at a Glance?

• US$221.4 billion: India's software services exports in 2025-26, up 8.2% year on year (Reserve Bank of India survey on software exports, 2025-26).
• US$239.3 billion: the same exports including sales through overseas commercial presence, up 9.5%.
• 54.1%: the US share of those exports in 2025-26, up from 52.9% a year earlier.
• 31.8%: Europe's share, with the United Kingdom the largest European buyer.
• 2,117 GCCs in 3,728 units: the size of India's capability-centre base in FY2026 (Zinnov-Nasscom India GCC Landscape 2026 report).
• 506: Forbes Global 2000 companies with a GCC in India, alongside 583 mid-market and 504 private-equity-backed centres.
• About 2.36 million people and US$98.4 billion: the headcount and revenue figures in the same report's FY2026 summary.

All plotted numbers are in one file: download the data as a CSV. You may reuse the charts if you link back to this page.

How Big Are India's Software Exports, and How Much Goes to the US?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) publishes an annual survey of computer software and IT-enabled services (ITES) exports. Its latest edition, released on 18 September 2026, puts 2025-26 software services exports at US$221.4 billion, up 8.2%. Counting sales made through foreign affiliates of Indian firms, the figure is US$239.3 billion, up 9.5%.

The United States remains the biggest buyer. Its share rose from 52.9% in 2024-25 to 54.1% in 2025-26, a gain of 1.2 percentage points. Europe slipped from 32.8% to 31.8%. By our arithmetic, 54.1% of US$221.4 billion is roughly US$120 billion of software services bought by US customers in one year.

The 2024-25 destination split shows how concentrated the market is. The US took 52.9%, Europe 32.8% (the UK alone 15.5%), Asia 6.4%, Australia and New Zealand 2.4%, Canada 1.3% and other countries 4.2%.

What Does India Actually Export, and How Is the Work Delivered?

Computer services, which is mostly IT services and software development, made up 69.3% of 2025-26 software exports. The RBI describes this as over two-thirds of the total. In 2024-25 it was 67.4%, or US$138.1 billion.

The delivery data matters for anyone planning a remote team. In 2024-25, 90.7% of exports were delivered off-site, meaning from India, and only 9.3% on-site at the customer. The US dollar was the invoicing currency for 72.0% of exports.

The commercial-presence line is growing fast. Foreign affiliates' local business rose from US$13.9 billion in 2024-25 to US$17.9 billion in 2025-26, an increase of about 29%, and now equals roughly 7.5% of the US$239.3 billion total.

What Is a Global Capability Centre, and How Fast Are They Growing?

A Global Capability Centre is a unit a company owns and runs in another country to do work for its parent. The work started as back-office support and now includes product engineering, data science and AI. The Zinnov-Nasscom landscape report counts 2,117 of them in India in FY2026, spread across 3,728 units, and describes 32% growth since FY2021.

The earlier edition of the study, released in September 2024, counted more than 1,700 GCCs, more than 2,975 units, over 1.9 million people and US$64.6 billion in revenue for FY2024 (ThePrint's report on the Nasscom-Zinnov study). Nasscom is India's technology industry body and Zinnov is a consulting firm.

One derived number is worth showing, with its method. Dividing revenue by people gives about US$34,000 per person in FY2024 (US$64.6 billion over 1.9 million) and about US$41,700 in FY2026 (US$98.4 billion over 2.36 million). That is a rise of roughly 23%. The FY2024 figure uses a "more than" headcount, so it is an upper bound, and the calculation is ours, not Nasscom's or Zinnov's.

Who Builds GCCs in India?

Zinnov's FY2026 data, as of March 2026, shows three groups: 506 Forbes Global 2000 companies, 583 mid-market firms and 504 private-equity-backed companies. The report does not say the groups are exclusive, so we show them side by side and do not add them up.

The mix tells a useful story for mid-size buyers. Mid-market firms now outnumber the largest corporations among centre owners, so the model is no longer reserved for the biggest companies.

We could not find a primary Nasscom-Zinnov figure for the share of GCCs owned by US parents. Other firms publish shares by count, floor space and leasing volume, and those are different measures that should never be read as one number. Until a primary source states it, we leave a US-parent percentage out.

How Does AI Change the Picture?

Zinnov describes India as the largest AI hiring market in the world and says its FY2026 report includes AI talent benchmarks for India's top eight GCC cities. That is the publisher's description, not a measured count, and the benchmark tables sit behind the report.

Press coverage cites figures such as the number of GCCs with AI and machine-learning work and the share of AI use cases that are generative or agentic. Surveys by consulting firms also report high GenAI investment among GCCs, but they use different samples and totals. We have not opened those figures at their primary source, so we do not repeat them here.

What the verified data does support is simple. The base of centres is large and growing, the talent behind them is growing with it, and the exports data shows how much of the work already moves across borders by remote delivery.

What Does This Mean for a US Buyer Choosing a Model?

Large numbers do not tell you which model fits your company. There are three common ways to use the India base, and the choice depends on how long you will need the team and how much you want to manage.

Choose a captive GCC if:
- AI engineering is a permanent part of your business
- You want full control of hiring, tooling and data
- You can fund a multi-year build and a local leader

Choose build-operate-transfer if:
- You want a captive centre but not the set-up risk
- A partner can hire and run the team first, then hand it over
- You accept a longer timeline before you own it outright

Choose a delivery partner if:
- You need engineers working within weeks, not quarters
- The work is a project or a fast-changing roadmap
- You want to try the model before you commit to a centre

If speed matters most, our senior AI engineers who work your US hours are one route. For a scoped build, see our AI agent development service. Neither depends on the statistics above.

How Were These Numbers Chosen, and What Are the Limits?

Every figure above was read at its primary source on 22 October 2026: the two RBI press releases and the Zinnov-Nasscom landscape page, plus ThePrint's report of the earlier Nasscom-Zinnov study. Where a number is ours, such as the US dollar value of the US share or the revenue per person, we say so.

• Fiscal years: RBI and Nasscom years run April to March, so 2025-26 and FY2026 both end in March 2026.
• Two export totals: RBI reports exports with and without sales through overseas commercial presence. We label which one each number uses.
• Definitions differ: GCC counts vary by publisher because each defines a centre differently, so totals from different surveys do not match.
• Estimates: the FY2026 headcount and revenue come from a summary figure, and the FY2024 values are "more than" counts.
• Not covered: we found no comparable primary source for salaries in India and the US, so this page makes no cost-gap claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do US companies build AI teams in India?

The data shows scale and fit. India exported US$221.4 billion of software services in 2025-26, 54.1% of it to the US, and most of that work is delivered remotely. More than 2,100 capability centres already operate there, so hiring, leasing and management models are well established.

How big are India's software exports, and how much goes to the US?

RBI puts 2025-26 software services exports at US$221.4 billion excluding commercial presence and US$239.3 billion including it. The US share was 54.1%, up from 52.9% in 2024-25. Europe took 31.8%.

What is a Global Capability Centre (GCC)?

A GCC is a company-owned unit in another country that does engineering, data, finance or operations work for the parent company. Some sources call it a captive centre. It is not the Gulf Cooperation Council, which shares the abbreviation.

How many GCCs are there in India?

The Zinnov-Nasscom 2026 report counts 2,117 GCCs across 3,728 units in FY2026. The 2024 edition counted more than 1,700 GCCs. Other surveys report different totals because they define a GCC differently.

Is India cheaper for AI engineers?

Often, but this page does not publish a salary gap because we found no primary source that compares India and US wages for the same role. Vendor cost claims we reviewed contradicted each other. Ask for quotes on the same role, seniority and hours, then compare.

Should a US company build a GCC or use a partner?

Build a GCC when AI work is permanent and you can fund a multi-year set-up. Use a partner when you need engineers quickly or are still testing the model. Build-operate-transfer sits between the two.

Can I cite or reuse these statistics?

Yes. Cite the original source for each number, which the captions link to, and link to this page if you reuse a chart. The CSV file lists every plotted value with its source.

Want a Straight Answer on Whether an India AI Team Fits You?

Tell us the AI work you need done and the hours you need covered. A senior engineer will tell you which model fits, what to settle first and a realistic scope, with no obligation.

Request a Quote →

Related Services

• AI Agent Development
• AI Product Engineering
• Hire AI Engineers

Further Reading

• How AI-First Teams in India Differ From Traditional Outsourcing
• How Offshore AI Development Teams Work
• How In-House and Outside AI Development Compare
• What Is an AI Engineering Partner?