HCLTech has expanded its operations in South Africa with the launch of a new regional headquarters in Johannesburg, featuring an Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence aimed at supporting enterprise AI adoption and technology delivery across the region.
Located in Sandton, Johannesburg's business district, the facility will serve as a regional base for HCLTech's technology innovation and delivery operations. The AI Centre of Excellence will allow enterprises to explore the company's full-stack AI portfolio and assess industry-specific applications of the technology.
The portfolio includes AI-led Service Transformation, Industry AI Solutions, AI Foundry, AI Engineering, AI Factory and AI Advisory. Through the centre, HCLTech plans to demonstrate how these capabilities can be applied to business requirements as enterprises evaluate and scale their AI transformation programmes.
The new headquarters will also operate as a training hub focused on developing technology talent in South Africa. HCLTech has been operating in the country for more than 15 years and has combined its enterprise technology operations with programmes aimed at building local digital skills.
Over the five financial years from FY21 to FY25, the company supported nearly 500 students and learners through its skills development programme. Nearly 50 participants subsequently joined HCLTech in full-time roles.
The technology company has also partnered with the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria and North-West University as part of its efforts to strengthen the country's technology talent pipeline. HCLTech said its ICT and digital literacy programmes have reached more than 20,000 beneficiaries across South Africa over the past five years.
Sandeep Saxena, Chief Growth Officer, Growth Markets 2 at HCLTech, said South Africa has been a strategic market for the company for over 15 years. He added that the new facility deepens HCLTech's commitment to the market through its full-stack AI portfolio and continued focus on local talent development.
The company also marked the expansion with its leadership team participating in an opening ceremony at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The Johannesburg centre comes as HCLTech expands its broader AI capabilities across infrastructure, engineering and enterprise services. In July, the company announced its entry into the full-stack AI market alongside plans to invest up to ₹3,500 crore in AI data centres.
HCLTech currently employs more than 223,000 people across 60 countries. The company reported consolidated revenue of $14.8 billion for the 12 months ended June 2026.
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