The real advantage for enterprises comes from intelligence that works at the core — built into products, platforms and operations to enhance experiences and drive measurable outcomes. HCLTech’s Engineering and R&D Services (ERS) offerings span the full spectrum of engineering — from chip to cloud to edge to experience — designing next-generation products, modernizing core platforms and building intelligent physical and digital systems that operate in the real world.

As industries converge around autonomy, real-time decision-making and intelligent experiences, we are accelerating investments in Advanced AI, spanning Physical and Agentic AI and positioning GenAI as a a core strategic pillar.

As we reinforce our commitment to engineering intelligence that operates at scale in the real world, our ERS strategy is anchored in Physical AI.

Our Services

Product Engineering

Human-centric, intelligent and sustainable products

• Mechanical engineering
• Hardware and VLSI design engineering
• Embedded software engineering
• System engineering
• Verification and validation
• Sustainability engineering

Digital Engineering

Intelligent, high-performance digital products and platforms

• Digital product engineering
• Platform and cloud engineering
• Data and AI engineering
• 5G engineering
• XR engineering

Digital Operations

Digital continuity and manufacturing transformation

• Product lifecycle management
• MES/MOM
• IT/OT/ET convergence
• Plant engineering
• Digital twin/thread
• Model-based enterprise

AI | GenAI | Physical AI | Agentic AI | Edge AI

AI-powered spec-to-platform semiconductor foundation powering chip-to-cloud engineering

Physical AI: Where Intelligence Meets the Real World

Physical AI represents the shift from software-centric intelligence to systems that sense, perceive, decide and act in physical environments. We are focused on engineering intelligence into machines, devices, networks, factories, vehicles and infrastructure — where outcomes are governed by physics, latency, safety and scale.

This strategic focus spans areas such as autonomous driving, edge and vision-based systems, robotics and kinetic AI — systems that continuously learn and adapt through interaction with the real world. Across industries, our ERS teams are enabling use cases such as robot-enabled factory floor monitoring, vision-led inspection, predictive safety systems, intelligent logistics and real-time operational optimization. Bringing these solutions to life requires deep integration across hardware, software, data and control systems — an area where we bring distinctive engineering depth.

Semiconductors as a Foundation for Physical AI

As Physical AI adoption accelerates, semiconductors and custom silicon have become strategic enablers not just for semiconductor companies, but for enterprises across industries, primarily to protect their IP. HCLTech is uniquely positioned to support this shift, helping enterprises design and adopt silicon-led architectures to power their AI and performance ambitions.

From autonomous vehicles and industrial robotics to smart appliances and connected infrastructure, HCLTech works with clients to align chip design, embedded software, edge computing and cloud platforms. This chip-to-cloud-to-edge-to-experience approach embeds intelligence from the start, enabling end-to-end engineering for efficiency, reliability and differentiation.

Intelligence Engineered across Industries

Across industries, our strategy is expressed through different systems and outcomes. In manufacturing, it enables autonomous factories with self optimizing production lines and intelligent quality systems. In telecom, it powers networks that can sense, analyze and act in real time. In consumer and industrial products, it means embedding intelligence into devices that adapt to users and operating conditions. In automotive and mobility, it spans autonomous driving, advanced driver assistance systems and connected vehicle ecosystems.

In each case, HCLTech combines human ingenuity with AI precision to engineer systems that are adaptive, resilient and built for scale.

Platforms as Strategic Advantage

Platforms are central to how enterprises scale intelligence and deliver seamless experiences in an increasingly complex world. Drawing on the experience of delivering multiple planet-scale platforms across industries, HCLTech engineers systems designed for extreme concurrency, resilience and performance, enabling millions of interactions to run reliably and in real time.

Our strategic focus on digital platforms that permeate different layers of the enterprise ensures that intelligence is not constrained by scale, legacy or organizational silos. Instead, enterprises are equipped with future-ready platforms that accelerate innovation, improve responsiveness and deliver consistent, scalable and high-quality experiences.

Investing to Acquire and Strengthen Advanced Capabilities

To support this strategic direction, HCLTech has made targeted investments in building advanced semiconductor lab capabilities, strengthening its position to lead in silicon engineering and services. These investments enable deeper work in chip design, verification, validation, system integration and co-engineering with software and platforms, placing our ERS portfolio at the forefront of the semiconductor services ecosystem.

In parallel, we continue to invest in creating holistic solutions, vertical-specific specializations, patents in key technologies and reusable engineering assets. These investments help our clients accelerate their intelligence-led transformation journeys, moving from experimentation to production-scale deployment with confidence.

The strategic acquisition of HPE’s Telco Solutions business in FY26 brings globally deployed operations support system and subscriber data platforms supporting over a billion connected devices, strengthening our platform-led approach to intelligence and accelerating the shift toward autonomous networks. Together with the earlier acquisition of select assets of HPE’s Consumer Technology Group, this uniquely positions HCLTech to help communications service providers evolve from telcos to tech companies, combining product-led, IP-driven platforms with advanced engineering and next-generation, AI-native transformation models.

Building for Sustained Growth

We also continue to invest in next-generation skills and capabilities to ensure our engineering talent remains future-ready and adaptable. By combining deep engineering expertise with emerging intelligence, we are building a resilient ERS organization prepared to lead long-term transformation.

Accelerating Innovation through AI-led Solutions and IP

In FY26, HCLTech accelerated its innovation agenda by converting deep engineering expertise into scalable, AI-led solutions and IP, strengthening its position in next-generation engineering transformation.

Our outcome-driven IP strategy delivered reusable accelerators, differentiated offerings and a growing patent portfolio, enabling faster solution realization and improved service efficiency. In FY26, 32 patent applications were filed and 30 granted.

We continued to build patent-led differentiation with investments in AI, autonomous systems, AI-driven system on chip development and edge-native intelligence, enhancing our ability to integrate digital, embedded and physical engineering.

Key innovations, including SLM on Edge, convolutional neural networks-based silicon accelerators and AI-driven SoC automation, delivered measurable gains with higher productivity and return on investments.

We also advanced lab and infrastructure engineering through lab-as-a-service and digital twin–based simulation, improving operational efficiency and reducing mean time to resolution. Our 40,000 sq ft Advanced Semiconductor Lab, launched in Bengaluru during the year, will further our spec-to-platform strategy.

Overall, FY26 marked a shift to repeatable, AI-first engineering solutions, underpinned by strong IP and platform capabilities — creating a scalable foundation for FY27 growth.

Advanced Semiconductor Lab, Bengaluru, India

Analysts Speak

IDC MarketScape for Worldwide IT Engineering Services for Software-Defined Vehicles 2025

HCLTech has a legacy as an IT professional services and engineering services provider and offers solution and capabilities across chip to cloud. The service provider has leveraged its capabilities across services, which allowed the service provider to build a comprehensive offering around SDV alongside traditional IT services for automakers and tier 1 suppliers. Its extensive portfolio of services across SDV testing and validation and cybersecurity is well appreciated by its customers. Complementing its SDV stack offerings with GenAI in engineering services is a strong area for HCLTech."

Mukesh Dailani, Research Vice President, Digital Engineering and Operational Technology Services, IDC

Everest Group's Software-defined Vehicle (SDV) Engineering Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2025

HCLTech has been recognized as a Leader in Everest Group's Software-defined Vehicle (SDV) Engineering Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2025, reflecting its strong market impact and comprehensive SDV engineering capabilities. Their strong positioning is driven by continued investments in SDV validation and automation ecosystems, including dedicated labs, simulation frameworks and test automation platforms, along with deep expertise across connected cockpit, infotainment and ADAS integration. HCLTech’s execution excellence in program management and fleet operations, supported by strong partnerships with semiconductor firms, has helped it deliver valuec for OEMs and tier-1 suppliers. While their technical depth is well established, greater visibility around proprietary IP and accelerators could further enhance differentiation as SDV programs evolve."

Akshat Vaid, Partner, Everest Group

Case Study

Enabling Intelligent Water Asset Monitoring with AI for WaterNSW

Managing large-scale water infrastructure while protecting fragile ecosystems posed a complex challenge for WaterNSW. Traditional monitoring was time-consuming, resource-intensive and reactive. Detecting trash blockages and monitoring native eel populations across vast, remote networks required faster insights, higher accuracy and proactive intervention.

WaterNSW partnered with HCLTech to deploy an AI-enabled water asset monitoring platform. Leveraging its AI engineering expertise, HCLTech built an advanced video analytics solution processing live and recorded feeds from 80 cameras across canals and catchments. Customized AI models detect water-flow obstructions, monitor levels and identify and track elvers in real time. A scalable microservices architecture, integrated with cloud analytics and automated alerts, minimizes manual effort and triggers site visits only when needed.

The impact is significant: 100% accuracy in detecting waterflow obstructions and a high level of accuracy in identifying elvers. WaterNSW has significantly reduced inspection costs, lowered carbon emissions through fewer site visits and improved operational efficiency, enabling proactive, data-driven water and ecosystem management.

HCLTech has been able to supercharge our progress in the video analytics space by essentially supporting our business by providing some exceptional expertise to augment our internal staff to really be able to develop skills and provide knowledge transfer to the WaterNSW team.”

Phil Glastonbury, Manager, Water and Asset Systems, WaterNSW

Case Study

Advancing Cardiac Care with a Next-Gen Myocardial Protection System

As cardiovascular disease rises globally, cardiac surgeries demand greater precision, adaptability and real-time control to ensure patient safety. Traditional cardioplegia systems, however, rely on manual processes and legacy technology, limiting their ability to meet evolving clinical needs. To address this gap, Nordson Medical partnered with HCLTech to reinvent myocardial protection for the next generation. Rather than incremental improvement, the goal was a complete redesign.

Developed by Nordson Medical with engineering support from HCLTech’s ERS team in Chennai, the Myocardial Protection System (MPS) is a fully programmable platform engineered for precision, automation and global scalability. Built in compliance with FDA QSR, CE and ISO 13485 standards, the system integrates advanced control algorithms for real-time clinical intelligence, a deterministic real-time operating system and optimized microfluidics enabled by computational fluid dynamics. An intuitive touchscreen interface and seamless integration with heart-lung machines and patient monitoring systems enable rapid adoption.

The results have been transformative. Developed from concept to animal trials in just 18 months, the MPS has supported 250,000+ surgeries globally, improving precision, reducing complications and advancing safer, smarter cardiac care.

We selected HCLTech as our development partner through a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation process and we couldn’t be more satisfied with the outcome. With HCLTech’s support across every phase of the development cycle, including design, development, verification, validation, reliability, quality, human factors, regulatory and documentation for software, electrical and mechanical engineering disciplines, we achieved a highly successful product launch. The breadth and depth of expertise within HCLTech’s team, coupled with their ability to seamlessly scale resources in alignment with project demands, were instrumental to the program’s success."

Cristo Corera, Sr. Software Engineer, Nordson Medical Surgical Solutions

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