Infosys' $1.6 billion deal with telecom firm Liberty Global explained

Indian information technology giant Infosys has bagged a deal worth €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) with communications firm Liberty Global. Infosys entered into a five-year agreement, with an option to extend it to eight years and above. Infosys will help develop Liberty Global’s Horizon entertainment and connectivity platforms.

The collaboration would provide artificial intelligence (AI) powered digital entertainment to consumers. If the deal is extended for eight years, its value would be €2.3 billion.

“By bringing the scale and breadth of Infosys, including cutting-edge technologies such as Infosys Topaz AI offering, the expanded collaboration ensures continued operational excellence, a highly scalable development engine for new features and capabilities, and efficiencies for Liberty Global,” Infosys said in a press release.

What does the Infosys-Liberty Global deal include?

Liberty Global, which is a converged broadband, video and mobile communications services entity, will have all intellectual property rights for its Horizon entertainment and connectivity platforms. It will license its platforms to Infosys. After the deal with Infosys, Liberty Global aims to provide the best-in-class services to new markets and operators. This will allow millions of new customers to experience Horizon’s connectivity and entertainment services.

The collaboration will allow Liberty Global to realise over €100 million in run-rate savings per annum, including technology investments and other savings.

The agreement will help Liberty Global make their entertainment solutions more engaging and powerful to new generations of digital-first customers, according to company CEO Mike Fries.

The contract will provide significant opportunities for over 400 Liberty Global workers who will join Infosys. Senior executives and technology teams from the firm’s Network and Shared Operations, Product, Technology Development Service Delivery Group, and Security Groups will transition to the Bengaluru-based company.

Infosys has supported Liberty Global since 2020 and the new contract will substantially expand the collaboration.

Infosys’ fourth big collaboration

Amid a slowdown in the IT sector, this is the fourth big deal bagged by Infosys in recent months. Infosys won a deal worth $1.5 billion with British oil and gas major BP in May. It managed to ink a new agreement worth $454 million with Danske Bank in June. Infosys also announced a deal with an existing strategic client worth $2 billion last month.

Infosys’ deal with Liberty Global is crucial as it comes after its rival TCS bagged a $1.1 billion deal from British pension scheme NEST a few days ago.