Goldman Sachs Rejects "Short-AI India" Narrative
Despite concerns that India's vast IT services sector might be vulnerable to automation and job losses, leading some market participants to label India as a "short-AI" trade, Goldman Sachs has pushed back against this narrative. A Bloomberg report cites Santanu Sengupta, Goldman Sachs' chief India economist, who noted that hiring in smaller technology firms and global capability centers (GCCs) is helping to mitigate job reductions in traditional software services.
Identifying India's AI Enablers: A 42-Stock Portfolio
In response to the growing global artificial intelligence (AI) boom, Goldman Sachs has compiled an "India AI Enablers Portfolio," featuring 42 Indian companies. This curated list includes firms such as Waaree Energies Ltd, Netweb Technologies India Ltd, Tata Power Company Ltd, Kaynes Technology India Ltd, Syrma SGS Technology Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd, NTPC Green Energy Ltd, Sterlite Technologies Ltd, Anant Raj, and GE Vernova T&D India.
According to Goldman Sachs, these companies were selected based on their visible revenue generation, robust order-book pipelines, significant capital commitments, and strategic partnerships across the AI-related supply chain, encompassing critical sectors like power, semiconductors, and data centers.
Strong Performance Amidst AI Boom
The "AI Enablers" cohort has demonstrated exceptional performance in 2026, outperforming broader small and midcap indices. This suggests that their strong returns are driven by genuine, idiosyncratic AI-related strength rather than a general market size premium. Goldman Sachs also observed that the rise in stock prices for these AI Enablers largely reflects earnings growth rather than an expansion in valuation multiples, indicating fundamental strength.
Broader AI Adoption Across Corporate India
While hard disclosures on AI-related revenue and investments remain limited among Indian companies, Goldman Sachs leveraged textual data from management calls to gain deeper insights into AI adoption. The brokerage noted a sharp increase in mentions of "AI" in management commentaries over the past two years, not only within the Information Technology (IT) sector but increasingly across other industries. This trend signals a broadening embrace of AI technologies throughout corporate India, strengthening the argument against a "short-AI" view of the nation's economy.