Smaller Indian companies linked to data centers and Artificial Intelligence infrastructure have become some of the biggest stock market winners in 2026, despite India lacking major AI software or semiconductor companies.
The companies are benefiting from the huge amount of money being spent worldwide on building AI infrastructure such as data centers, as per a report by the Bloomberg.
One of the biggest examples is Sterlite Technologies Ltd., an optical-fiber company owned by the Vedanta Group, whose shares have jumped more than 530% in 2026.
Twenty-eight Indian companies connected to the data-center supply chain have added around $47 billion in market value in 2026, with their combined market value increasing nearly 50% this year.
Investors in Mumbai have started calling this trend the 'AI capex trade', with R. Sivakumar, Chief Investment Officer at Axis Mutual Fund, saying that India may not be leading the AI software race but could benefit from the spending on AI infrastructure.
Global technology giants are investing billions of dollars in India's AI and cloud infrastructure, with Amazon planning to invest $12.7 billion in cloud infrastructure in India by 2030 and Alphabet investing around $15 billion in an AI infrastructure hub in Visakhapatnam.
Analysts at Nomura said the biggest opportunity is in companies that supply the equipment needed to build, power and cool data centers, describing these suppliers as the 'picks and shovels' of the AI boom.
