Vishal Sikka's Hang Ten Systems raises $32M seed to challenge IT services with agentic AI

What happened

Vishal Sikka, former Infosys CEO and SAP CTO, emerged from stealth with Hang Ten Systems and a $32M seed led by Mayfield with participation from Aramco Ventures. Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang joins the board.

Context and impact

Sikka wants to use agentic AI as a tool to dismantle the traditional IT services model — i.e. straight at Infosys, TCS, Wipro and Cognizant. That market is currently being squeezed hard by AI: GitLab cut 14% this week, Oracle 21,000 — all 'cited AI'. Early customers Siemens Gamesa and Fresenius point to a focus on complex enterprise modernisation (legacy migrations, ERP customisations), areas where the Indian IT giants traditionally dominate.

Details

• Seed: $32M, led by Mayfield, with Aramco Ventures
• Board: Jerry Yang (Yahoo co-founder)
• Early customers: Siemens Gamesa, Fresenius
• Market: direct competitor to Infosys (Sikka was CEO 2014-17), TCS, Wipro
• Context: sharp rise in 'AI-cited' layoffs across IT services