Virtusa CEO bets big on AI, eyes $ 5 b by 2030

Virtusa’s new leadership has set an ambitious vision to transform the company into a $5 billion enterprise by 2030, positioning it as the world’s leading domain-driven engineering partner for the AI-enterprise.  On his first visit to Sri Lanka since taking over as CEO earlier this year and in what marks his first series of global media engagements, Nitesh Banga sat down with the Daily FT for an exclusive interview. He outlined Virtusa’s immediate priorities in AI and GenAI, its long-term expansion into high-growth industries, and the pivotal role Sri Lanka continues to play in the company’s global journey.

By Charumini de Silva

Virtusa CEO Nitesh Banga

Q: What is your overall vision for Virtusa under your leadership? What are the immediate and long-term strategic priorities for the company?

At Virtusa, our vision is to be the world’s leading domain-driven engineering partner for the AI-enterprise. We are not just evolving with the industry — we are helping shape its future. In the immediate term, our focus is on deepening our capabilities in AI and GenAI based solutions that accelerate business outcomes in the industries where we play, especially banking and financial services, healthcare, insurance and life sciences, as well as telco and technology.

Long-term, we aim to become a $ 5 billion enterprise by FY2030 by expanding into high-growth verticals such as energy, manufacturing, and semiconductors, and building a stronger innovation ecosystem through strategic partnerships.

“We don’t just build with AI, we build scalable solutions leveraging our Virtusa Helio suite of AI-powered accelerators that improve the efficiency of key functions in the industries we have been transforming for years”

Q: What major trends do you see shaping the future of digital transformation and technology services?

There are two enormous forces impacting our industry today. The first is the shift from digital transformation to AI-led transformation. This includes the rise of agentic technologies, GenAI, multi-modal interfaces, and embedded AI across business processes. Established leaders and upstarts in every industry are racing to become “AI-driven enterprises” using these tools and we aim to be there with them, every step of the way. 

The other major force impacting both us and our customers is the convergence of geopolitical, and macro-economic shifts, which are demanding enterprise resilience and agility. To survive this uncertain and shifting landscape, clients are increasingly seeking tangible return on investment (ROI) from their AI investments and faster time-to-value. This is where we excel. We don’t just build with AI, we build scalable solutions leveraging our Virtusa Helio suite of AI-powered accelerators that improve the efficiency of key functions in the industries we have been transforming for years. 

“Clients today are looking beyond cost arbitrage — they expect innovation, speed, and expertise in their industry. They are looking to partner with firms that can help them adopt AI responsibly and deliver measurable business outcomes, fast”

Q: How is Virtusa encouraging a culture of innovation internally?

Innovation comes from a hierarchically flat and inclusive workplace. This is where we think we have an advantage at Virtusa. We are big enough to have access to both the world’s leading-edge technologies through our partners and globally meaningful clients across our industries. Yet we are also small enough to give access to transformative work to a young and diverse workforce that constantly brings us fresh ideas that we turn into client solutions. We foster this culture of innovation in multiple ways. 

First, we have organised a company-wide focus on AI-powered innovation with Helio, our suite of proven business GenAI solutions across every industry and technology we specialise in. Second, we prioritise upskilling, with internal programs in our Virtusa thrive academy that focus on AI orchestration, prompt engineering, and domain-specific applications. We apply these innovations internally to boost productivity, streamline workflows, and strengthen knowledge reuse. Finally, we break down silos across our internal groups, be they specialists in certain industries or technologies by fostering internal innovation with gamified competitions like Virtusa Icon, where we bring together the best innovative solutions across every industry and tech focused groups to compete for recognition and rewards. 

Q: How are client expectations evolving, and how is Virtusa staying ahead of them?

Clients today are looking beyond cost arbitrage — they expect innovation, speed, and expertise in their industry. They are looking to partner with firms that can help them adopt AI responsibly and deliver measurable business outcomes, fast. We stay ahead by combining deep domain fluency with agile engineering, and by providing modular AI accelerators that integrate seamlessly into our clients’ environments. We believe this is where we excel, we are experts in the industries we specialise in. We offer clients AI and GenAI solutions from our Virtusa Helio suite, tailored to the business processes we have perfected over decades.

“We plan on continuing to leverage our heritage and the many advantages Sri Lanka has to offer, while continuing to invest in the future growth of Virtusa right here in Sri Lanka” 

Q: Are there plans to expand Virtusa’s product or platform-based offerings beyond services?

Yes, but they will be delivered through our services. This is a prime example of the blurring between software and service. While services remain core to our model, we are increasingly embedding platform capabilities we uniquely build and own into everything we deliver. Our Helio platform is a prime example — it’s multi-LLM compatible, comes with governance built-in, and enables faster AI adoption. We are also exploring bespoke accelerators for verticals like BFSI, healthcare, and telecom, where we already have strong footprints. This will all come to our clients as part of the service offering, we deliver. In other words, we intend to differentiate our services, through our software. 

Q: What’s your take on tech talent, particularly in regions like Sri Lanka and South Asia?

Sri Lanka and South Asia are home to exceptional tech talent. Over the past 40 years, the region has proved itself in producing high quality talent in large numbers with alignment and exposure to the global industry. With the rise of GCCs, we are also seeing South Asia position its talent to be capable of delivering strategic value to businesses, and acting as boosters to the core operation. As AI and sustainability become central to transformation, South Asia and Sri Lanka have the potential to contribute significantly to building inclusive, resilient, and future-ready digital capabilities. Only a few countries possess the combination of expertly trained talent that is acutely aware of the global business and sustainability challenges confronting enterprises today.

“As AI and sustainability become central to transformation, South Asia and Sri Lanka have the potential to contribute significantly to building inclusive, resilient, and future-ready digital capabilities”

Q: How do you plan to attract and retain top digital talent across diverse markets?

At Virtusa, we create an environment where people can do the best work of their careers. We invest in continuous learning, provide exposure to global programs, and offer flexible and inclusive work environments. Our people strategy is tightly aligned to our business strategy — fostering a sense of ownership, empowering local leadership, and aligning employee impact to purpose-driven outcomes, including our sustainability goals.

Q: What role does Sri Lanka play in Virtusa’s global delivery model? Are there any new investments or expansion plans in the country?

Virtusa started out in Sri Lanka, and the country lends to our heritage as a firm with deep engineering expertise. Today, Sri Lanka is an integral part of Virtusa’s global delivery network. We’re proud of the contributions our teams in Sri Lanka make to high-impact global programs. Our investments continue to grow in areas like AI engineering, infrastructure modernisation, and sustainability initiatives. From a country perspective, Sri Lanka offers several strategic advantages including an abundance of high-quality talent, an investment-friendly economic environment and strong potential for collaboration globally.

“Our biggest opportunity lies in leading enterprise AI transformation in a responsible and domain-centric way”

Q: What are the biggest opportunities and challenges you see for Virtusa in the next 3–5 years?

Our biggest opportunity lies in leading enterprise AI transformation in a responsible and domain-centric way. The challenge, of course, is talent evolution — ensuring our teams are not just technically ready, but ethically grounded and sustainability-aware. 

Q: How do you view Sri Lanka’s role in Virtusa’s journey and future growth strategy?

 I am very impressed by the work being done by our teams in Sri Lanka and the ecosystem here. We could say that “Virtusa was built in Sri Lanka outward.” We are proud to have been instrumental in the growth of Sri Lanka’s digital ecosystem. Many of our significant, marquee client relationships were first built from here, and Sri Lanka is where we developed many of our accelerators. While we have scaled outwards from our Sri Lanka roots, our presence here continues to be a strategic differentiator for us as we move towards our goal of growing to be a $ 5 billion company over the next five years. We plan on continuing to leverage our heritage and the many advantages Sri Lanka has to offer, while continuing to invest in the future growth of Virtusa right here in Sri Lanka. 

“From a country perspective, Sri Lanka offers several strategic advantages including an abundance of high-quality talent, an investment-friendly economic environment and strong potential for collaboration globally”