Cognizant has kicked off its first global OpenAI Codex hackathon, bringing together 10,000 employees from six cities across India as the company accelerates its investment in AI-powered software development and workforce upskilling.
The event, held in collaboration with OpenAI, is taking place in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Coimbatore, and Kochi under the theme “Engineering the Frontier.” The initiative is designed to help employees gain practical experience with OpenAI Codex while strengthening Cognizant’s AI engineering capabilities.
The move reflects the growing race among IT services companies to equip employees with generative AI skills as businesses increasingly seek AI-driven software development, automation, and enterprise solutions.
Earlier this year, Cognizant was recognized by OpenAI for its AI Builder capabilities and was selected as one of a limited group of global systems integrators to expand the adoption of OpenAI Codex among enterprise customers.
Colleen Kapase, Vice President of Strategic Global Partnerships and Ecosystems at OpenAI, said the hackathon gives thousands of Cognizant employees an opportunity to explore, learn, and build with advanced AI technologies. She added that the programme marks an important step toward helping the company transform these skills into practical solutions for enterprise clients.
The hackathon includes coding competitions, training sessions led by OpenAI experts, collaborative development projects, and access to technical mentors and learning resources. Through these activities, participants will gain hands-on experience in applying AI coding tools to real-world business challenges.
Cognizant also plans to significantly expand the programme beyond its initial phase, with a goal of reaching more than 50,000 employees over the coming months.
Rajesh Varrier, President of Global Operations and Chairman and Managing Director of Cognizant India, said the initiative is focused on helping employees develop practical expertise with AI-assisted coding while creating enterprise-ready AI applications. According to him, combining human expertise with AI capabilities is essential for delivering meaningful business outcomes, and the hackathon provides employees with an opportunity to build real-world skills using frontier AI tools like Codex.
The hackathon is part of Cognizant’s broader AI talent strategy. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to create 15,000 AI-focused specialists through its newly launched Frontier programme, further expanding its investment in AI engineering and client services.
Financially, Cognizant also posted steady growth in the June quarter, reporting revenue of $5.48 billion, compared with $5.24 billion during the same period last year.
Also Read: Cognizant, OpenAI Expand Codex Across Enterprise Software Engineering
