Vishal Sikka's $32M Startup Hang Ten Systems Is Coming for the IT Services Industry
The man who once transformed Infosys from a traditional IT services company into an AI-first enterprise is now betting that AI can make the entire IT services industry obsolete — or at least radically cheaper.
Vishal Sikka, former CEO of Infosys and longtime technology strategist at SAP, has launched a new startup called Hang Ten Systems, and it has already raised $32 million in seed funding — barely a month after being founded.
What Is Hang Ten Systems?
Hang Ten is an AI-native enterprise services company. Rather than deploying thousands of consultants to customise, integrate, and maintain enterprise software — the model that has made companies like Infosys, Wipro, and TCS billions for decades — Hang Ten uses agentic code generation, reusable AI skills libraries, and forward-deployed engineering teams to do the same work faster and cheaper.
The company is headquartered in the Bay Area and is already working with large enterprises including Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and Fresenius. That it has paying customers before its public announcement is a strong signal — Mayfield managing partner Navin Chaddha described Hang Ten's model as one that "scales through intelligence, not headcount."
The $32 million seed round was led by Mayfield, with a strategic investment from Aramco Ventures and participation from Silicon Valley angel investors. Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has joined the company's board.
Why the Name?
Sikka chose "Hang Ten" deliberately. The term refers to the surfing move where a rider walks to the nose of the board and extends all ten toes over the edge — the ultimate test of balance, skill, and commitment to the wave. His message is unambiguous: AI is that wave, and enterprises have two choices — surf it or get wiped out.
"AI is upon us all like a massive new wave," Sikka wrote on X. "I learned a long time ago that when there are big waves around, it is time to surf. Not just to surf, but to hang ten."
The $250 Billion Market in the Crosshairs
Traditional IT services is a $250 billion global industry built on a deceptively simple premise: enterprises do not want to hire thousands of engineers to run their own software, so they outsource it to specialists. The model scales linearly — more work means more people.
AI breaks that model. Agentic systems can perform the same code customisation, integration work, and maintenance cycles that previously required large delivery teams. Hang Ten's pitch is that it can deliver enterprise-grade outcomes with a fraction of the human overhead.
This is not a new idea — but it is the first time someone of Sikka's profile and credibility has built a company explicitly around it. Infosys shares have already fallen over 35% in 2026 as investors reprice the sector's long-term economics. The market is beginning to believe the disruption is real.
The India Connection
This story matters particularly for India. The IT services industry — anchored by Infosys, Wipro, HCL, and TCS — is one of the country's most important economic pillars, employing millions and contributing significantly to export revenues.
Sikka is not Indian-American building something far from home. He spent years running Infosys from Bengaluru and has deep credibility in the Indian tech ecosystem. His argument that AI-native delivery can outcompete traditional services is a direct challenge to the business model that defines India's largest technology employers.
Whether Hang Ten succeeds or not, the fact that its thesis is now backed by serious investors at a serious valuation is a signal the Indian IT industry cannot afford to dismiss.
The Team
The founding team is a reunion of executives who worked with Sikka across SAP, Infosys, and his previous AI venture VianAI. Key members include Navin Budhiraja as CTO, Sanjay Rajagopalan as Chief Design Officer, and Tao Liu as Senior Vice President of Forward Deployed Engineering. Sikka himself previously raised $50 million in seed funding and $140 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 for VianAI — so this is not his first time building from scratch.
Hang Ten is currently hiring across delivery, engineering, sales, and leadership, with plans to expand globally.
Bottom Line
Hang Ten Systems is early, but it arrives at exactly the right moment. The question it is trying to answer — can AI-native delivery replace traditional IT services at enterprise scale — is one of the most consequential in the technology industry right now. If Sikka and his team get it right, the ripple effects will be felt far beyond Silicon Valley.
Published June 27, 2026.
