HCLTech

HCL was founded in 1976 as one of India’s original technology, computing and engineering startups. Founder Shiv Nadar recalled that the company started in a barsati, a humble rooftop dwelling, in Delhi; the HCL group later gave India its first indigenous 8-bit personal computer.⁠[1][2][2][3]

The listed company HCL Technologies Limited was incorporated in New Delhi on November 12, 1991, as a public company limited by shares, with its registered office at Nehru Place in New Delhi and its headquarters in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.⁠[2][2][2][4]

In 2000, HCLTech was publicly listed, and that year it launched India’s first network security services business. From 2001 to 2003 it expanded into medical devices, aerospace and defense, semiconductors, manufacturing, financial services and retail, and pioneered remote infrastructure management (RIM) by signing deals with AMD and NCR; from 2003 to 2005 its engineering services reached scale, with engagements signed with Airbus and Boeing.⁠[1][1][1][1]

In 2008, the company acquired AXON, a UK enterprise applications consultancy, moving its software services up the value chain; in 2009, HCL AXON won SAP’s Pinnacle global partner award. In fiscal 2008–09, the company had revenues of 105.91 billion rupees ($2.18 billion), up 40.0%, and 54,216 employees at year-end.⁠[1][5][5][5][5]

In 2014, the company opened a co-innovation lab with Deutsche Bank in London to build fintech solutions.⁠[1]

In October 2016, the company announced that C Vijayakumar would succeed the departing Anant Gupta as president and chief executive officer and would remain based in the United States; then chairman and chief strategy officer Shiv Nadar called him a transformational leader. The company also announced an $85 million acquisition of Butler America Aerospace, which had more than 900 engineers in the United States, to strengthen its aerospace and defense engineering services.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6]

On July 17, 2018, through a joint venture with Sumeru Equity Partners, the company completed its acquisition of Actian, a hybrid data management and analytics products company based in Palo Alto, California; that year the company began pivoting back into the software products business (it regards the year as the start of HCLSoftware) and pioneered an IT services ecosystem model of partnerships with hyperscalers, technology OEMs and independent software vendors.⁠[7][7][7][1][1]

On December 6, 2018, IBM and HCL Technologies announced a definitive agreement under which HCL would acquire seven IBM software products for $1.8 billion: AppScan, BigFix, Unica, Commerce, Portal, Notes & Domino and Connections, five of which were already covered by an IP partnership between the two. Chief executive Vijayakumar said the products were in strategic segments such as security, marketing and commerce; IBM said it was divesting them to concentrate investment in high-value areas such as AI and hybrid cloud. The deal closed on June 30, 2019.⁠[8][8][8][8][8][2]

In March 2019, law firm Kotchen & Low filed a class action against HCL Technologies on behalf of Gregory Handloser in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that the company considered him for employment five times in 2017 and 2018 but did not hire him because of a “systematic and continuous discriminatory scheme” favoring Indian and South Asian candidates. A similar suit the firm had filed in 2018 on behalf of former employee Reese Voll was sent to arbitration by the court.⁠[9][9][9][9]

HCL responded that it was reviewing the lawsuit and would respond appropriately, that it took pride in the employment practices of its U.S. subsidiary HCL America, and that it employed 15,000 people in the United States, 63% of them hired locally.⁠[9][9]

In fiscal 2018–19 (ended March 31, 2019), the company had revenue from operations of 604.27 billion rupees, up 19.5%; that year it bought back 36,363,636 shares at 1,100 rupees each for a total of 40 billion rupees, after a 35 billion rupee buyback the previous year.⁠[7][7][7]

In fiscal 2019–20 (ended March 31, 2020), the company had revenues of 706.76 billion rupees, up 17.0%, and net income of 110.57 billion rupees; from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2020, revenues grew from 475.68 billion rupees to 706.76 billion rupees, a compound annual growth rate of 14.1%. The company then organized its business as “Mode 1-2-3,” with Mode 2 (next-generation technologies such as digital and analytics, IoT, cloud native and cybersecurity) and Mode 3 (its own IP and products) growing at double-digit rates; its employees filed 29 patents that year.⁠[2][2][2][2][2][2]

On July 17, 2020, Shiv Nadar stepped down as chairman (thereafter serving as founder, chairman emeritus and strategic advisor to the board), and Roshni Nadar Malhotra took over as chairperson. Earlier, in fiscal 2019–20, the company had launched a business unit called “HCL Software,” housing acquired IBM products such as AppScan, BigFix, Notes, Domino and Unica.⁠[2][2][3][2][2]

On July 20, 2021, C Vijayakumar was appointed managing director, with the title chief executive officer and managing director; he is based in the United States and paid by the U.S. subsidiary HCL America.⁠[10][10]

In August 2023, HCLTech and Verizon Business announced a strategic partnership under which HCLTech would deliver managed enterprise wireline network services. In fiscal 2024 the company acquired ASAP Group, a German automotive engineering services provider, strengthening its position in autonomous driving, e-mobility and connectivity; in 2024 it also acquired Communications Technology Group assets from HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise).⁠[10][1][10][10][10][1]

In fiscal 2024 (ended March 31, 2024), the company had revenues of 1.099 trillion rupees (109,913 crore), up 8.3%, and net income of 157.02 billion rupees; it had 227,481 employees at year-end and hired 12,141 freshers during the year. The Verizon contract was the largest services deal in the company’s history. Headcount grew from 150,423 in fiscal 2020 to 227,481 in fiscal 2024.⁠[10][10][10][10][10][10][10][10]

In fiscal 2026 (ended March 31, 2026), the company had revenues of 1.301 trillion rupees (130,144 crore), up 11.2%, and U.S. dollar revenues of $14.664 billion, up 6.0%; HCLSoftware annual recurring revenue was $1.05 billion and annualized AI revenue $620 million; it had 227,181 employees at year-end and paid a full-year dividend of 60 rupees per share. That year it acquired HPE’s Telco Solutions business, Singapore financial services consultancy Finergic (completed March 6, 2026) and Belgian AI data analytics startup Wobby.⁠[11][11][11][11][11][11][3][3][3]

In August 2026, after a hacker group claimed that HCLTech employee data may have been exposed, the company told the stock exchanges that its initial investigation found the data “may be limited and dated to a few years back,” that there was no evidence of a breach of its systems or client engagements, and that its investigation was continuing and any material findings would be reported.⁠[12][12][12][12]

On October 8, 2026, at a White House anti-fraud task force press conference, U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, citing criminal investigations led by Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito, announced the suspension of Cognizant, InfosysInfosysInfosys (Infosys Limited) is an information technology services and consulting company headquartered in Bengaluru, India, founded in 1981 by N. R. Narayana Murthy and six others. Listed on Indian stock exchanges and the New York Stock Exchange, it had revenues of $20.158 billion in fiscal 2026 and more than 328,000 employees, and is one of India’s major information technology services companies.Open the full entry, Tata, WiproWiproWipro (Wipro Limited) is an information technology services and consulting company headquartered in Bengaluru, India. It began in 1945 as the vegetable oil maker Western India Vegetable Products and was transformed into an IT company under Azim H. Premji; listed on Indian stock exchanges and the New York Stock Exchange, it had revenues of about $10.5 billion in fiscal 2026 and more than 240,000 employees.Open the full entry, HCL and Capgemini from the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program, as well as Microsoft and Adobe; “HCL” referred to HCL Technologies. The Department would not accept or process any new or pending applications involving these companies; PERM is a prerequisite for most employment-based green card petitions, and the measure does not cancel existing H-1B visas.⁠[13][13][13][14][13][15][15]

Sonderling said that since 2009 these companies alone had requested almost three million foreign workers and received more than 230,000 H-1B visa approvals and more than 100,000 permanent labor certifications. As of that day, prosecutors had brought no criminal charges in the labor investigation, and HCL did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ReutersReutersReuters is an international news agency founded in London in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter and is now the news business of Thomson Reuters. It provides text, photo, video, and graphics coverage to media and institutional clients and distributes it through channels such as Reuters Connect.Open the full entry. HCLTech said it had filed very few such applications in recent years and did not expect a material impact on its workforce plans or client engagements; HCL filed 59 PERM applications in 2026, compared with 323 in 2025.⁠[13][13][16][16][17][14]

As of October 2026, Roshni Nadar Malhotra is chairperson, C Vijayakumar is chief executive officer and managing director, and founder Shiv Nadar is chairman emeritus and strategic advisor to the board; the company has more than 230,000 people in 60 countries and consolidated revenues of $14.8 billion for the 12 months ending September 2026. In 2026, the HCL group marked its 50th anniversary. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027 (ended June 30, 2026), the company had revenues of 345.79 billion rupees and 223,889 employees at quarter-end.⁠[3][3][1][1][1][18][18]

HCLTech: Official website: https://www.hcltech.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]

X: Public account: https://x.com/hcltech (opens in a new window)⁠[4]