Cognizant to Acquire Astreya for $600 Million in Third-Largest Deal

Bengaluru: In a bid to strengthen its AI infrastructure capabilities, Cognizant is acquiring Astreya, a tech firm specialising in AI infrastructure and data centre services, in a deal valued at about $600 million - its third-largest acquisition after Trizetto and Belcan. Astreya manages over 500,000 end users and supports nearly 30% of the world's data centres for large enterprises. "Between 2025 and 2030 there is a projected $6.7 trillion AI data centre infrastructure buildout currently reshaping the global technology landscape, with global capacity expected to double in five years. By acquiring Astreya..., we will be even better-positioned to help clients architect their platform-led AI systems and operationalise them at scale," said CEO Ravi Kumar. Additionally, the company rolled out a global programme, Project Leap, and expects to incur costs of $230 million to $320 million, recognising most of these expenses in 2026. This includes $200 million to $270 million in employee severance costs. Sources said the initiative could affect thousands of roles over the next eight months, including in India, which accounts for a large share of the company's workforce. While Cognizant's management declined to disclose the number of employees likely to be impacted when TOI asked, industry estimates suggest that every $100 million in restructuring costs could translate into roughly 10,000 jobs. "This programme aims to prepare us for the future operating model, and we will execute it with the same focus and energy as any other strategic priority. It's equally important," CFO Jatin Dalal said during the earnings call. For the March quarter, Cognizant reported revenue of $5.4 billion, up 5.8% year-on-year in dollar terms and 3.9% in constant currency.