The fastest-five providers bagged large AI-led deals, signaling enterprise confidence

Our conversations with enterprise leaders reveal they often look beyond the TWILTCH (TCS, Wipro, Infosys, LTIMindtree, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, HCLTech) players for a high-growth partner blending operational agility with scalable delivery. This search is precisely the motivation for HFS to identify the “fastest-five” service providers—the five (of many we track) that report the highest year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth in a quarter.

In Q2 2025, Coforge, Firstsource, Persistent, EPAM, and Sonata Software were the fastest-five service providers. They all surpassed the market average growth rate of 5.7% YoY ⁽²⁾ to report double-digit growth (see Exhibit 1). They make an interesting watch list for any enterprise assessing the ecosystem in search of its next partner.

Exhibit 1: YoY revenue growth for the fastest-five, Q2 2025

Note: Revenue and growth data represent HFS estimates based on analysis of publicly available information. YoY growth compares a quarter with the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Source: HFS Research and earnings reports of leading service providers, 2025

The fastest-five are helping enterprises drive AI adoption despite macroeconomic uncertainty

The fastest-five service providers demonstrate organic and inorganic AI investment as they equip themselves to help enterprises advance their AI strategies. They specialize in key verticals (such as BFSI, life sciences, and healthcare), likely appealing to organizations operating in unique and regulated industries. The result is a flurry of AI-centric deals, including Coforge’s recent $30 million AI-powered modernization deal.

This deal activity means the fastest-five have the capability and experience to help enterprises scale AI initiatives effectively, but enterprises still have questions about their operational resilience.

Smaller, more nimble firms often still battle the perception that they might struggle in an uncertain macroeconomic environment, frequently prompting enterprises to look to bigger providers. The fastest-five’s success proves that search isn’t always necessary. Their AI success comes when enterprise caution stretches sales cycles—particularly in BFSI—and tariff uncertainty impacts operations daily.

The fastest-five are proof to enterprise leaders that bigger is not always better.

Which of the fastest-five is right for you? Here we delve into each of their Q2 2025 earnings reports

• Coforge reported 51.7% YoY growth in Q2 FY25. The headline-grabbing performance was led by its acquisition of Cigniti, which contributed more than half of Coforge’s growth, alongside large-deal ramp-ups, particularly its $1.56 billion Sabre deal. Coforge posted strong growth across almost every industry and geography, but reported softness in insurance and the EMEA region.
• Firstsource reported 20.5% YoY growth in Q2 FY25, led by a strong performance in the US across core verticals, supported by 2024 acquisitions of Ascensos and Quintessence. It won four large deals in the healthcare industry, each with more than $5 million in ACV (average contract value), and added eight new clients. In CMT (communication, media, and tech), its fastest-growing vertical this quarter, it added seven new logos, driven by AI-led demand. Regionally, considerable deal growth from the US helped offset the slowdown in the UK.
• Persistent reported 18.7% YoY growth in Q2 2025. Its revenue has consistently grown across all its business verticals and regions for the last three quarters. This quarter, it reported a slowdown in healthcare due to slow client execution caused by tariff impacts on the medical-technology supply chain and US funding cuts.
• EPAM reported 18% YoY growth in Q2 2025. EPAM’s growth has slowed since the conflict in Ukraine began because its largest delivery center was in that region. However, it has diversified into other regions, including India (now its largest delivery center) and Central Europe, bolstering growth. Additionally, the NEORIS and First Derivative acquisitions boosted growth inorganically.
• Sonata Software reported 17.3% YoY revenue growth in Q2 2025, which leadership attributed to increased demand for cloud adoption, data protection, and managed IT services. However, due to the macroeconomic conditions, Sonata’s international business growth was nearly flat. Sonata is primarily a Microsoft reseller and system integrator. However, as Microsoft plans to increasingly go direct to large clients, bypassing channel partners, Sonata’s business will be affected, and it must reassess its focus on a single hyperscaler.

The Bottom Line: The fastest-five prove that AI-led growth isn’t limited to the biggest providers. Enterprises looking for a differentiated proposition with agility at the core should consider these providers.

Enterprise and AI leaders who value flexibility, industry-specific focus, and AI-embedded services and tools will benefit from considering these “fastest-five” service providers. Their recent earnings highlight that expanding capabilities, vertical depth, and proprietary AI platforms drive revenue traction, a key proof point for their ability to help enterprises realize their AI ambitions.

Notes:
(1) Growth data represents HFS estimates based on analysis of publicly available information. The year-over-year (YoY) growth compares a quarter with the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
(2) HFS considered Accenture, Birlasoft, Capgemini, Coforge, Cognizant, Conduent, DXC, EPAM, EXL, Firstsource, Genpact, Globant, HCLTech, Hexaware, IBM, Infosys, Kyndryl, LTIMindtree, Mphasis, Persistent, Sonata Software, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, WNS, and Zensar for this analysis.
(3) HFS defines mid-tier companies as those with revenue between US$500 million and US$2 billion.