By 2030, conventional IT companies will successfully disappear, veteran investor Vinod Khosla predicts, warning that India’s outsourcing business faces sweeping disruption as synthetic intelligence replaces giant swaths of software program and back-office work.
“It’s very clear to me that folks in India don’t imagine that the entire concept of IT companies is over,” Khosla mentioned at India AI Affect Summit 2026 in New Delhi. “By 2030, there will probably be no such factor as IT companies. There will probably be no such factor as BPO. These are gone.”
Khosla, founding father of Khosla Ventures and an early backer of OpenAI and Stripe, mentioned new AI-native companies will emerge, however the transition will probably be “very, very disruptive to the Indian financial system.”
“There will probably be new sorts of companies primarily based on AI that Indian corporations can kind and convey to the remainder of the world as a result of India has the most effective engineers, the most effective expertise, the most effective schooling and all that,” he mentioned. “However these will probably be very, very disruptive to the Indian financial system, and I don’t suppose persons are paying sufficient.”
The remarks strike on the coronary heart of India’s $250 billion know-how outsourcing sector, dominated by companies corresponding to Infosys and Tata Consultancy Providers. Khosla acknowledged resistance inside the business, quipping that “there’s someone at Infosys hating me proper now,” whereas noting that incumbents “have made the transition earlier than”.
His prognosis extends nicely past outsourcing.
Khosla forecasts that by 2050, “no one wants jobs,” as AI drives the price of healthcare, schooling, authorized companies, transportation and leisure towards near-zero, reshaping the financial foundations of contemporary societies.
“The query you need to ask is, will anyone want jobs?” he mentioned. “I believe by 2050 will probably be very clear no one wants jobs however sufficient manufacturing of products and companies which might be close to free, you received’t want jobs”.
Additionally Learn
Vinod Khosla explains why enterprise capital is chasing bonkers AI valuations
He argued that AI programs will deal with most economically worthwhile duties throughout professions. “I outline AI very particularly as when AI can do 80% of all the roles which have financial worth,” he mentioned. “Whether or not you’re a structural engineer, a farm employee, an meeting line employee, a health care provider, or an accountant. If AI can do 80% of all jobs, that’s AI. I believe we’re there within the subsequent few years.”
In Khosla’s view, the downstream results will compress costs throughout important companies. “I believe the minimal stage of companies — healthcare, schooling, authorized, meals — will probably be very low-cost as a result of it may be robots and never needing labour,” he mentioned.
He cited advances in personalised drugs and schooling as early indicators of structural change. “It’s doable to offer each Indian baby… an AI private tutor,” he mentioned. “It’s doable to offer a near-free AI physician to each Indian, 24-7.”
The shift, he urged, will problem establishments constructed round credentialing and employment.
“So in the event you ask me 15 years from now, I don’t see any want for universities in any respect,” Khosla mentioned. “I believe there can be different methods to be taught which might be significantly better in your time with out the expense of a college and that type of dedication. So I don’t see an enormous future for universities.”
He added that the first operate of early education could stay socialisation, however larger schooling’s financial rationale may erode as AI-driven personalised studying outperforms conventional fashions.
Khosla framed the transformation as inevitable however politically contingent. “My basic view is that adoption of AI will probably be very totally different in several nations as a result of politics are totally different in several nations,” he mentioned.
Whereas he acknowledged potential dislocation, Khosla argued {that a} post-work financial system may unlock new types of human exercise. “Sooner or later, you inform that child, be taught a ardour and discover it,” he mentioned, describing how recommendation to kids could shift away from securing employment. “I believe folks in humanity will usually pursue passions, not jobs.”
For India, the near-term problem lies in navigating what he characterised as a speedy erosion of its conventional export engine. The longer-term query, he urged, is whether or not policymakers can handle the social and political changes required in a world the place AI programs carry out the majority of economically worthwhile work.
“It’s solely 25 years,” Khosla mentioned of his 2050 horizon. “I believe we’re a really totally different world now”.
Elevate your perspective with NextTech Information, the place innovation meets perception.
Uncover the most recent breakthroughs, get unique updates, and join with a worldwide community of future-focused thinkers.
Unlock tomorrow’s traits at present: learn extra, subscribe to our e-newsletter, and turn out to be a part of the NextTech group at NextTech-news.com
