Mass layoffs, hiring freezes, and stalled raises are shaking the foundation of India’s long-held IT dream and Coinswitch founder Ashish Singhal says AI is to blame, not the economy.

In a LinkedIn post, Singhal warned that the old career formula—engineering degree, IT job, stable life—is collapsing under the weight of automation and artificial intelligence.

“TCS is laying off 12,000 people. Intel, 24,000. Microsoft, 9,000. Infosys has paused pay hikes,” he wrote. “That formula is now broken. Most people just haven’t realized it yet.”

Singhal said he’s witnessing the fallout firsthand: top-tier employees getting cut, job offers shrinking, and even high performers feeling expendable. “This isn’t a blip,” he added. “It’s not the economy. It’s AI.”

He believes the world is entering a critical three-year window—a chaotic but fertile moment for creators and builders to stake their claim before tech giants dominate the playing field completely. “After that, it’s game over for most,” he warned.

Framing the future as a binary choice, Singhal outlined two paths: “You wait for the govt to provide… or you build the value that no one—and no AI—can ever take away.”

He didn’t offer easy answers but called for action over complacency. “You don’t get to the right side by waiting your turn. You get there by building.”

His message? The only “safe” move in today’s AI-restructured world is to start creating now.