Costco India will grow its technology presence beyond Hyderabad, Javier Polit, Costco’s chief information and digital officer, told Reuters on 12 November 2026 in Hyderabad. The Costco India centre in the city is the retailer’s first global capability centre, employs more than 70 people and supports global operations. Polit said the centre is expected to grow to several hundred staff over the next five to six years. The plan points to a larger role for India in the retailer’s global technology work.
The centre works on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, along with data and analytics, business software and digital advertising. AI has delivered productivity gains of up to 60% in some technology projects, Polit said, prompting Costco to build more tools in India for global deployment. One of those tools is a Hyderabad-developed geofencing tool that identifies customers approaching stores to speed check-in and checkout. The centre gives that plan a base in the city, and its work is meant for use across the retailer’s stores and systems.
Costco India and the Hyderabad centre
Costco set up the Hyderabad centre with support from consulting firm ANSR. Reuters reported last year that the centre could eventually employ about 1,000 people. The Costco India centre now employs more than 70 people, and Polit put the near-term path at several hundred staff over the next five to six years. The work covers global operations, so tools built in Hyderabad are meant for use across the retailer’s stores and systems. The centre’s early work has already fed into products used outside India.
What Costco India builds for global use
The geofencing tool is one example of Hyderabad work built for wider use. It identifies customers as they approach a store, so check-in and checkout can move faster when they arrive. AI gains of up to 60% in some technology projects have pushed Costco India to build more such tools in India for global deployment. The centre also works on data and analytics, business software and digital advertising, alongside its artificial intelligence and cybersecurity work. Polit said the gains from AI made the case for a larger India team. The geofencing tool was developed in Hyderabad, and it shows the kind of product the centre builds for use outside India.
The centre’s brief covers the retailer’s global operations, reaching beyond its India business. That means the artificial intelligence and cybersecurity work done in Hyderabad feeds into systems used in other markets. Data and analytics work supports decisions across the business, while business software and digital advertising tools are built for use by teams outside India. Costco India built the centre to support global operations from Hyderabad, and its work now spans artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, business software and digital advertising.
Sales, staffing and the road ahead
Polit spoke to Reuters in Hyderabad on 12 November 2026, and the centre he described is Costco’s first global capability centre. It employs more than 70 people and supports global operations, with growth to several hundred staff planned over the next five to six years.
Digitally enabled sales were 11% of Costco’s total net sales in fiscal 2026, which ended on 30 August. In the four-week retail month ending 1 November, digitally enabled sales grew 22.5% from a year earlier, while total net sales rose 12.6% to $24.50 billion. The numbers show why the retailer is putting more technology work in India. Costco India plans to shift its technology workforce over time to about 75% employees and 25% contractors, from roughly an even split today.
The shift in staffing will happen as the centre grows from more than 70 people toward several hundred over the next five to six years. ANSR supported the setup of the Hyderabad centre, and Reuters reported last year that it could eventually employ about 1,000 people. The centre supports global operations from Hyderabad, and its work now spans artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, business software and digital advertising. Costco India has room to expand beyond the city, Polit said, and the Hyderabad centre is the start of that growth.