Infosys accuses Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar of stalling key project for rival’s gain

Infosys on Thursday filed a counterclaim in Texas federal court against rival Cognizant, accusing the US-based company of engaging in anti-competitive practices and poaching key executives.

India’s second-largest software company has accused Cognizant of anti-competitive practices, such as including clauses in contracts that prevent clients from providing IT services to competitors and denying them training in its software.

The Bengaluru-based company also said Cognizant had engaged in targeted recruitment of key senior executives, including appointing S Ravi Kumar as its CEO in 2023, delaying its ability to develop a competing software product called Infosys Helix.

Infosys and Cognizant did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The countersuit comes after Cognizant subsidiary TriZetto ( AXPAST.UL ) sued Infosys last August, accusing the Indian tech major of stealing trade secrets related to its health insurance software.

TriZetto’s Facets and QNXT are used by health insurance companies to automate administrative tasks.

The Teaneck, New Jersey-based company says in its complaint that Infosys misused TriZetto’s software to create “Fact Test Cases” that improperly repackaged TriZetto data into Infosys products.

Infosys demanded three times the damages it suffered, as well as attorney’s fees and costs related to the case.

The case is Cognizant TriZetto Software Group Inc v. Infosys Ltd, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, No. 3:24-cv-02158-X.