1 week ago
India’s GCC Boom Spreads From Beer and Burgers to AI
Global companies are opening special offices in India called Global Capability Centres, or GCCs.
These offices used to mostly handle banking and software support work.
Now companies from many industries, including beer, burgers, retail, and sports streaming, are using them.
The offices employ people who build technology, study data, and develop artificial intelligence.
Companies say India has many skilled engineers and data specialists who can be hired quickly and at scale.
McDonald’s is using its Hyderabad centre to improve order checking with AI.
DAZN plans to invest ₹500 crore in sports data and technology and create 3,000 jobs by the end of 2026.
This suggests India’s role is changing from providing support services to helping companies build important products and systems.
Carlsberg, McDonald’s, Walmart, and DAZN launched or expanded India capability centres in 2025.
The new centres cover engineering, finance, sourcing, data analytics, cloud, AI, and retail innovation.
Companies increasingly view India as a source of specialised capability rather than simply lower-cost labour.
McDonald’s Hyderabad centre uses AI to verify orders across 400 restaurants and aims to scale globally.
Hyderabad accounted for about 40% of India’s new GCCs over the past three years, ahead of Bengaluru’s 33%.
- Who
- Carlsberg, McDonald’s, Walmart, and DAZN are among the companies establishing or expanding Global Capability Centres in India.
- What
- Companies across beverages, quick-service restaurants, retail, and sports media are building India-based engineering, analytics, AI, and business functions.
- Where
- The centres discussed are located in Gurugram, Hyderabad, and Chennai, with Hyderabad emerging as the leading Indian GCC hub.
- When
- Carlsberg launched its centre in September 2025, McDonald’s opened its centre in October 2025, and the broader shift has accelerated over the past twelve months.
- Why
- Companies are seeking India’s engineering, data science, and AI talent to build specialised global capabilities, not only to reduce costs.
Key facts
- Carlsberg centre
- Carlsberg launched its first IT Global Capability Centre in India in Gurugram in September 2025.
- McDonald’s centre
- McDonald’s opened its largest Global Capability Centre outside the United States in Hyderabad in October 2025.
- McDonald’s facility
- The Hyderabad centre covers 1.56 lakh square feet and includes finance, sourcing, data analytics, and AI teams.
- Walmart expansion
- Walmart leased 465,000 square feet at International Tech Park Chennai for its second India GCC, focused on retail innovation.
- DAZN investment
- DAZN launched India’s first sports-tech GCC in Hyderabad with a ₹500 crore investment.
- DAZN jobs target
- DAZN aims to create 3,000 jobs through its Hyderabad centre by the end of 2026.
- GCC city share
- Hyderabad accounted for roughly 40% of new GCCs established in India over the past three years, compared with Bengaluru’s 33%.
Quotes
Divesh Agarwal
Founder and CEO of Aumni, with experience building India-based engineering teams for global businesses
“When a brewer and a bank start building their most important technology functions the same way, in the same country, it stops being solely an India story and starts being a capability story,”
republicworld.com
Sources
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