Goldman Sachs finds 42 Indian ‘AI enabler’ stocks up ~60% even as Nifty falls

# Why this matters

India's headline equity indices have lagged in 2026, but a focused group of companies tied to the infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence has posted strong gains. Goldman Sachs' screening shows that a narrow cohort of 42 listed firms — mostly in power, data centres and semiconductors — has returned about 60% this year.

# Sachs selected the group

Goldman Sachs reviewed roughly 1,800 listed Indian companies (combined market value of about $5 trillion) and applied filters for market size, liquidity, revenue growth, capex, R&D intensity, visible AI-related revenue or orders, and management commentary on AI infrastructure. That yielded 42 companies with a combined listed market value near $670 billion.

# What's in the basket

The 42 companies cover the AI-infrastructure supply chain: power generation, power transmission, power equipment, data-centre development and operations, data-centre hardware, semiconductor assembly and testing, semiconductor materials and semiconductor hardware.

Representative names cited include Adani Green Energy, Tata Power, NTPC Green Energy, Power Grid, Adani Energy Solutions, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, HFCL and Polycab India. Capital goods make up half the list (21 companies).

All three main layers identified by Goldman Sachs — power, data centres and semiconductors — have gained between 40% and 80% in 2026. Six of nine sub-layers rose more than 20%. Data-centre operators account for about $400 billion of the basket's market value, followed by power equipment (~$100 billion) and power generation (~$50 billion). The rally has been broad-based across market-cap segments, which shows the move isn't driven solely by small-cap strength.

# How this contrasts with the index view

The Nifty fell roughly 12% in 2026, and India has been described as an "anti-AI" trade because benchmark indexes have limited exposure to AI-related businesses. Goldman Sachs' findings show meaningful AI-linked exposure exists outside traditional index heavyweights, concentrated in capital goods, utilities and technology hardware rather than the typical large-cap technology names.

# Practical takeaways for readers

• AI-related investment demand in India appears to be expressed through infrastructure — power, data centres and semiconductor supply chains — rather than software or large-cap platform companies.
• The basket's cross-capitalisation mix (micro to large caps) implies different risk and liquidity characteristics across the group.

# Short list of named firms (representative)

# Bottom line

Goldman Sachs' screen surfaces a concentrated, infrastructure-focused group of Indian companies that have materially outperformed the broader market in 2026. The result reframes the narrative that India broadly missed the global AI opportunity: the exposure exists, but it's concentrated in infrastructure firms rather than index-dominant tech names.