Why Acquisitions Are Central to Virtusa’s $5 Billion Growth Plan

CEO Nitesh Banga outlines how strategic M&A is accelerating Virtusa’s global scale and AI ambitions

Q:Virtusa’s journey is deeply intertwined with Sri Lanka, which was also the company’s first offshore delivery center. As CEO, how do you personally view the Sri Lankan technology industry today, and what does Sri Lanka represent in Virtusa’s global delivery network in terms of legacy, capability, and future potential?

Sri Lanka is deeply woven into Virtusa’s DNA. It was our first offshore delivery center and, in many ways, where Virtusa was built outward from. Over the years, Sri Lanka has consistently demonstrated deep engineering excellence, strong domain capability, and a global mindset. I am very bullish about the Sri Lankan technology industry. The talent here has been central to many of our marquee client relationships and platform innovations, and Sri Lanka continues to be a strategic anchor in our global delivery network as we scale for the future.

Q: You have articulated a bold ambition to build Virtusa into a $5 billion enterprise. What does this milestone represent for you personally, and how does it redefine Virtusa’s role in the global technology services industry?

The $5 billion ambition represents our intent to redefine Virtusa as one of the world’s leading domain-driven engineering partners for the AI enterprise. Digital engineering firms that adopt an AI-first mindset will thrive in the AI era, while those that do not won’t. This $5 billion goal is achievable and reflects the scale of impact we want to create for clients, the industries we serve, and the talent within our organization for a new age. Reaching this goal means building a company that combines deep industry expertise, advanced AI capabilities, and global delivery excellence in a way that is both sustainable and differentiated for the AI era.

Q: Achieving that scale requires multiple growth engines working in tandem. How do you plan to lead Virtusa toward the $5 billion revenue goal, and what role do organic growth, offshore delivery centers, AI-led innovation, and acquisitions play in that journey?

Our path to $5 billion is built on a balanced growth model. Organic growth remains critical, driven by deeper client relationships and AI-powered industry solutions, and we are on the path to achieving this goal. Our growth strategy is focused on expansion across the following vectors: industry, geography, and service line, both through organic and inorganic means.

Q: In recent years, acquisitions have emerged as a critical pillar of Virtusa’s growth strategy. How do you approach acquisitions strategically, and what capabilities or market advantages did recent acquisitions such as Valentia Partners, SmartSoCs, and Maverick bring into the Virtusa ecosystem?

Acquisitions are a strategic lever, not a volume play for us. Each acquisition must strengthen our domain depth, extend our technology stack, or accelerate our entry into high-growth markets. Valentia added deep regulatory and advisory expertise, Maverick strengthened our digital and cloud capabilities, especially in the Salesforce ecosystem for the healthcare and public sector, and SmartSoC was pivotal in giving us semiconductor and silicon engineering depth, which we believe are key for the AI era. Together, these acquisitions collectively expand the value we can deliver to clients.

Q: With the acquisition of SmartSoCs, Virtusa has spoken about enabling a “chip-to-app” lifecycle. Could you elaborate on what this end-to-end capability means in practice for clients, and why semiconductor engineering is becoming so central to enterprise transformation?

The chip-to-network-cloud-app lifecycle is about serving clients across the entire digital value chain for the AI-era. With SmartSoCs, we now have the ability to engage at the foundational silicon and embedded systems layer within chips themselves and carry that capability all the way through to the network, cloud platforms and enterprise applications layers of the digital value chain. As AI models grow more complex and infrastructure becomes more critical, this end-to-end capability allows clients to reduce time-to-market, optimize performance, and design more efficient, future-ready systems across IT, OT and product.

Q: AI has been a consistent theme in Virtusa’s strategy under your leadership. How do you see AI shaping Virtusa’s future growth, and in what ways does AI move from being a technology layer to a true business transformation engine for your clients?

AI is central to Virtusa’s growth strategy. We see it not as a standalone capability, but as a multiplier across everything we do. Through our Virtusa Helio suite of AI services and solutions, we help clients embed AI into core business processes to drive measurable outcomes and faster time-to-value. Our approach to AI is firmly centered around the DFV frame. Desirability, which involves reimagining business processes to move from a human only approach to a human plus agent approach; Feasibility, which involves leveraging the right technology and responsible AI to bring the agentic processes to life; and Viability, which involves delivering the right ROI for strategic business imperatives.

Internally, AI is also reshaping how we operate by improving productivity, accelerating innovation, and strengthening knowledge reuse. This dual impact makes AI a foundational growth engine for Virtusa.

Q: As AI adoption accelerates, questions around talent, relevance, and human value inevitably arise. How do you see the role of people evolving in the age of AI, and how is Virtusa investing in upskilling and cross-skilling talent, particularly in markets like Sri Lanka?

At Virtusa, we believe AI elevates human potential rather than replaces it. Our focus is on enabling our people to work at a higher level by combining domain knowledge and engineering DNA with AI fluency. In Sri Lanka, this means strong investments in upskilling and cross-skilling through programs like the Virtusa Thrive Academy, ensuring our teams are equipped to lead AI-driven transformation for global clients.

Q: Virtusa recently partnered with British insurer CFC to open a new innovation and digital services hub in Sri Lanka. What does this center signify in terms of client confidence, domain-led innovation, and Sri Lanka’s positioning as a global capability hub?

The CFC innovation and digital services hub in Colombo is a strong vote of confidence in both Virtusa and Sri Lanka. It demonstrates that global enterprises trust Sri Lanka not just for delivery, but for domain-led innovation in areas like AI-powered insurance solutions. This hub reinforces Sri Lanka’s position as a global capability center and highlights how client partnerships can evolve into long-term innovation ecosystems.

Q: Beyond acquisitions and technology, Virtusa has emphasized domain-driven engineering as a differentiator. How important is deep industry expertise in sustaining growth at scale, especially as clients demand faster time-to-value from AI investments?

Clients today are focused on ROI, speed, and trust. At Virtusa, we believe our advantage is the ability to combine deep industry, technology, and business expertise to deliver just that. Additionally, we firmly believe that Enterprise AI adoption will need to be underpinned inside the business domains at the cross-section of vertical and horizontal business processes. Keeping this principle in mind, Virtusa Helio brings our domain expertise into the AI era with modular AI accelerators that are built with governance and scalability in mind. Responsible AI adoption is non-negotiable for us. By embedding governance, security, and industry context into our agentic solutions from day one, we are redefining domain expertise for the AI age. In doing so, we help clients move fast and deliver real business outcomes at scale without compromising trust or compliance.

Q: Looking ahead five to ten years, how do you envision Virtusa’s evolution as a global organization, and what role do markets like Sri Lanka play in shaping not just delivery capacity, but leadership, innovation, and the company’s long-term identity?

Looking ahead, Virtusa’s next phase will be defined by deeper industry leadership, AI-led differentiation, and continued expansion into high-growth sectors such as energy, manufacturing, and semiconductors, along with our well-established industry verticals such as financial services, healthcare, communications, and tech. Markets like Sri Lanka will play a much broader role in this journey, not just as delivery centers, but as hubs for innovation, leadership development, and platform engineering. The cutting-edge solutions we develop right here in Sri Lanka will continue to shape Virtusa’s identity as we scale globally.