TCS's $700M Coastal Deal Signals Major Push into AI & Salesforce

PALM COAST, FL – January 14, 2026 – Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a global titan in IT services, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Coastal®, a premier Salesforce, data, and AI consultancy. The all-cash deal, valued at approximately $700 million, marks TCS's largest acquisition since 2008 and signals a significant escalation of its ambitions in the rapidly converging worlds of artificial intelligence and enterprise cloud platforms.

The acquisition combines Coastal’s specialized, high-touch consulting prowess with TCS's massive global scale, creating a formidable new entity in the digital transformation market. Coastal, which will continue to operate as its own brand under the TCS umbrella, brings a heavily certified team and a stellar market reputation to the IT services giant, which generated over $30 billion in revenue last fiscal year.

A Strategic Play for AI and Salesforce Dominance

For TCS, this acquisition is a cornerstone of its aggressive strategy to become the world's leading AI-led technology services company. The move substantially strengthens its capabilities within the lucrative Salesforce ecosystem, where it aims to rank among the top five advisory firms globally. This follows the company's smaller, yet strategic, acquisition of Salesforce partner ListEngage in October, indicating a clear pattern of investment to capture market share.

By integrating Coastal, TCS gains more than just a larger Salesforce practice; it acquires deep, proven expertise in AI-led advisory, data modernization, and complex multi-cloud implementations. Coastal’s team of over 600 North American professionals brings with them a formidable arsenal of over 3,000 certifications, including 442 in the high-demand areas of Agentforce, AI, and Snowflake.

Aarthi Subramanian, Chief Operating Officer of TCS, framed the deal as a critical step forward. “This acquisition marks a pivotal milestone in advancing our global Salesforce capabilities and accelerating our AI-led transformation agenda,” she stated. “It is another significant step towards realizing TCS’s vision of becoming the world’s largest AI-led Technology Services company. We are delighted to welcome the Coastal team to the TCS family.”

The Value of a Specialized Powerhouse

While TCS brings scale, Coastal delivers a concentrated dose of high-value expertise that has earned it a top-tier reputation. The consultancy is a Salesforce Summit Partner, the highest level of partnership, and boasts a perfect 5/5 customer satisfaction rating on the Salesforce AppExchange with over 450 reviews. Independent analysis from firms like ISG has consistently recognized Coastal as a “Leader” in multiple Salesforce service categories for its deep industry knowledge and focus on delivering measurable business value.

Coastal's financial performance underscores its market position, with a reported turnover of $132 million for the fiscal year ending in December 2024 and $141 million for the twelve months ending September 2025. The acquisition's valuation, at roughly five times revenue, highlights the premium that market leaders are willing to pay for specialized, high-growth Salesforce-native consultancies with proven AI and data capabilities.

Eric Berridge, CEO of Coastal and a veteran leader in the Salesforce ecosystem, emphasized the strategic synergy of the merger. “Coastal was built to be a trusted advisor to our clients, helping them thrive in a constantly evolving world,” Berridge said. “Joining TCS brings greater depth, speed, and scale to helping organizations stay adaptive as technology changes faster than ever. They are looking for a single partner who can connect strategy, data, and execution. TCS’s advanced AI capabilities, enterprise systems integration solutions, and IP enable Coastal to guide organizations through a broader spectrum of transformation initiatives with one trusted team.”

Reshaping the Competitive Landscape

The TCS-Coastal deal is the latest and one of the most significant moves in a broader consolidation trend sweeping the tech consulting industry. As platforms like Salesforce become more complex and central to enterprise operations, large global systems integrators are racing to acquire specialized firms to fill expertise gaps and expand their service offerings. This acquisition squarely positions TCS to compete more aggressively with rivals such as Accenture, Deloitte, and Capgemini, who have also been active in acquiring Salesforce talent.

The combined entity can now offer clients a seamless, end-to-end transformation journey. Coastal's strength in high-level business consulting and agile, industry-specific solution design can now be paired with TCS's vast resources for global implementation, managed services, and large-scale systems integration. This potent combination is designed to attract enterprise clients looking for a single, accountable partner to manage their most complex digital initiatives, from initial strategy to long-term operational support. Furthermore, the deal provides TCS with deeper access to Coastal’s established client base in the mid-market, a segment ripe for digital transformation.

Boutique at Scale: Preserving Culture While Expanding Reach

Central to the deal's future success is the plan for Coastal to retain its distinct brand, culture, and leadership team, including CEO Eric Berridge. This “boutique at scale” model is an attempt to preserve the very qualities—agility, a customer-first approach, and a strong internal culture—that made Coastal a valuable acquisition target in the first place. For Coastal, the partnership provides a global platform and access to TCS's immense R&D and AI capabilities without sacrificing its core identity.

This integration strategy aims to create a powerful hybrid, offering the personalized attention and specialized knowledge of a boutique consultancy backed by the global reach, financial stability, and comprehensive service portfolio of an IT behemoth. The success of this model will be closely watched by the industry, as it represents a potential blueprint for how large corporations can absorb innovative smaller firms without stifling their entrepreneurial spirit. By empowering Coastal to continue its mission with enhanced resources, TCS is betting that it can deliver a new level of value to clients navigating the complexities of AI-driven transformation on the Salesforce platform.