PwC US is overhauling its offshore delivery structure in India, bringing its local operations closer to PwC India’s consulting business.
The US firm and PwC India plan to form a new joint venture that will merge PwC US’s India-based offshoring hubs — known as Acceleration Centers, or ACs — with PwC India’s consulting arm, according to an internal memo sent to staff on Saturday by the US CEO, Paul Griggs. Those hubs provide specialist talent and overnight support to US teams and operate independently of PwC India’s operations.
Creating a joint venture will help PwC compete more effectively as a global network, Griggs said in the memo.
The tie-up would drive growth and create new opportunities, improve access to talent and capabilities, and bring the firm’s “technology, engineering and AI capabilities together at greater scale,” said Griggs.
PwC announced the agreement early Sunday morning. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the memo said.
PwC US and PwC India did not respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.
Professional services firms have long used offshoring centers in lower-cost regions such as India, Argentina, and the Philippines.
The hubs help firms keep client costs down, tap specialist skills, and offer round-the-clock delivery. During a consulting or auditing project, US-based employees send non-client-facing work to offshore teams in different time zones to be completed overnight.
A PwC US consultant told Business Insider that they turn to PwC India when the India AC does not have enough capacity. But doing so can create delays, because the firms must renegotiate rates and terms of the work. The joint venture could speed up that process by removing “the middle man, PwC AC,” they said.
The joint venture also signals closer collaboration between PwC’s US and Indian firms — a meaningful shift for a network built around separate national member firms.
Like its fellow Big Four competitors —KPMG, Deloitte, and EY — PwC operates as a global network of legally separate firms rather than a single company. That structure is particularly important on the audit side of the business, where firms must navigate local regulations and independence requirements.
“The firms that win will be the ones that stop thinking about markets, capabilities, and delivery as separate pieces,” said Griggs in a press release on Sunday.
The move isn’t about where work gets done, but about offering clients a more seamless experience and the “best of PwC,” he added.
The firm is aiming to build a more globally integrated consulting model. In April, the Financial Times reported that PwC UK planned to merge its risk and consulting businesses as part of that strategy.
Read the full memo sent to US staff on Saturday here:
Team, Tomorrow, PwC US and PwC India will sign an agreement to establish a new joint venture that will bring together PwC US Advisory’s India-based Acceleration Centers and PwC India’s Consulting business. This combination will drive growth and strengthen how we serve increasingly global clients. India is one of the world’s most important growth markets and a source of world-class talent and capabilities. Bringing these businesses closer together will help us connect those strengths—more effectively expanding access to talent and capabilities, bringing our technology, engineering, and AI capabilities together at greater scale, and creating new opportunities for our clients and across our businesses. Over time, the joint venture will strengthen our ability to bring more of PwC to our clients wherever those capabilities sit, support clients as they grow and operate across markets, and compete more effectively as a global network. Signing is an important milestone and the beginning of the next phase. We expect the transaction to close in the first half of calendar year 2027, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Until then, teams will continue to serve clients and operate through existing structures and ways of working. Please keep this information confidential until the external announcement is issued on Sunday evening, Eastern Time. We’re excited about what this joint venture will unlock for our clients, our people and PwC. Paul
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