HCL Tech Buys Guardian India GCC in $10.5 Million Deal
Nearly 2,000 employees will move to a dedicated HCLTech business unit under a seven-year technology and AI services agreement with the US insurer.
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[Image source: Chetan Jha/MITSMR India]
HCL Technologies Ltd will acquire the Indian technology and operations center of US insurer Guardian Life for $10.5 million as part of a new seven-year services agreement between the companies.
The Noida-based technology company will buy all of Guardian India Operations Pvt. Ltd in cash, according to a stock-exchange filing. The transaction is expected to close on August 1.
Nearly 2,000 Guardian India employees working across technology, operations and shared services will move to HCLTech. They will form a dedicated business unit that will work exclusively for Guardian.
Karunakaran Azhisur, Country Head of Guardian India, will join HCL Tech to lead the unit.
The agreement expands a partnership announced in January, when Guardian selected HCL Tech to consolidate technology services and modernize its applications, testing and infrastructure.
Under the expanded engagement, HCL Tech will support Guardian’s group benefits, individual protection, retirement and wealth-management businesses. The companies did not disclose the value of the seven-year services contract.
HCL Tech will also extend the use of AI Force, its service-transformation platform, to develop agentic AI applications for Guardian. The work will cover the insurer’s data, applications, engineering and business operations.
The companies said they would jointly develop AI products and intellectual property that could be offered to other insurance businesses. They expect the partnership to reduce costs and product-development time, although they did not provide financial or operating targets.
“This partnership is an important step in advancing our operating model and scaling AI across our enterprise,” Guardian Chief Digital and Technology Officer Steve Rullo said.
The acquisition turns Guardian’s captive Indian center into an outsourced operation under HCL Tech while keeping its workforce in a unit dedicated to the insurer.
