EPAM Systems

1993–2011: Inception, dot-com crisis, and restructuring

EPAM Systems was founded in 1993 in the United States.^[2] Arkadiy Dobkin, a Belarusian-born software engineer who had emigrated two years earlier, was driven by the idea of building a software company that would bridge Eastern Europe’s engineering talent with client engagement in the United States.^[6] He persuaded his former high school classmate, Leo Lozner to join him as a co-founder.^[7] The company began as a cross-border startup, operating from Dobkin’s apartment in New Jersey, United States, while its first engineering team worked from the basement of the apartment building where Lozner lived in Minsk, Belarus.^[8] The model combined client engagement in the United States with engineering teams in Eastern Europe. The name “EPAM” is derived from Effective Programming for America.^[9]

During the 1990s, EPAM focused on enterprise-level custom software development and product engineering services.^[10] By the end of the decade, the company began working with large multinational technology companies, including SAP, on core product engineering initiatives.^[11][12] The work contributed to EPAM’s positioning as an engineering-led services provider, with teams operating as long-term product development partners rather than as traditional outsourcing vendors.^[7]

The dot-com collapse of the early 2000s exposed the company’s reliance on a limited number of large clients. In response, EPAM diversified its client base while maintaining a focus on complex software product engineering for technology and product companies across enterprise domains, including customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and data analytics.^[6]

In the mid- to late 2000s, EPAM expanded geographically by opening additional delivery centers and completing selective acquisitions in Europe and North America.^[10] A significant portion of its engineering teams remained concentrated in Eastern and Central Europe. Despite the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, the company continued to grow, supported by its focus on product engineering services and distributed delivery model.^[6]

By 2011, EPAM employed approximately 7,000 people worldwide and reported revenue growth of approximately 48 percent in 2010 and approximately 51 percent in 2011, positioning the company for its initial public offering in 2012.^[10]

2012–2022: IPO and global expansion

In February 2012, EPAM Systems completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EPAM, becoming a publicly traded provider of information technology services.^[13]

Between 2012 and 2022, the company expanded its geographic footprint and service portfolio.^[14] EPAM strengthened its capabilities in digital engineering, enterprise platforms, cloud services, and consulting, while broadening its client base beyond the technology sector to include multiple industries and large global enterprises.^[15][16]

By the mid-2010s, EPAM received recognition from industry analysts for its role in the development of the digital platform and product engineering services market.^[17] In 2016, the company was named the sole Leader in The Forrester Wave: Digital Platform Engineering Services (Q2 2016).^[18]

During this period, EPAM continued developing internally built operational platforms to support its distributed delivery model. The system, known as TelescopeAI, originated in the early 2000s as an internal workforce coordination tool. It later evolved into an artificial intelligence-based platform for IT operations and workforce management, including staffing, skills tracking, project performance monitoring, and employee lifecycle support.^[19] A Forrester study later noted that EPAM’s use of structured skills data predated broader market adoption of skills-based organizations before the term existed.^[20]

Throughout the 2010s, EPAM appeared on Forbes’ 25 Fastest-Growing Public Tech Companies list and, from 2019 to 2021, was the only IT services firm included for three consecutive years in Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies ranking.^{[21][22][23][24]} For fiscal year 2021, EPAM reported annual revenues of approximately $3.76 billion, reflecting year-over-year growth of more than 40 percent.^[25] In December 2021, EPAM was added to the S&P 500.^[4] During the same year, its market capitalization peaked at approximately US$39.6 billion.^[26]

In 2022, EPAM faced significant geopolitical disruption following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.^[27][28] The company exited the Russian market, relocated employees from affected regions, and accelerated the geographic diversification of its delivery operations. During this period, EPAM expanded delivery capacity across Central and Eastern Europe, India, Latin America, and North America, while reducing geographic concentration.^[9][29][30]

2023–present: Strategic shifts

From 2023 onward, EPAM increasingly emphasized artificial intelligence as its strategic priority, in response to evolving market demand and the broader adoption of AI-enabled technologies across enterprise environments. During this period, the company expanded its AI and cloud-related capabilities.^[31]<^[5][32]

EPAM continued to reduce its geographic concentration in Eastern Europe by further diversifying its delivery footprint through acquisitions and talent expansion in other regions. By 2025, the company employed approximately 62,850 people across more than 55 countries.^[1]

Effective September 1, 2025, Balázs Fejes was named Chief Executive Officer and President and joined EPAM's Board of Directors. The company's Board also appointed Arkadiy Dobkin as Executive Chairman, while he continued in his role as Chair of the Board.^[5]