Data Center / AI Infrastructure
Servers, cooling, power backup and the physical AI buildout
What this is
- Data centres turn AI and cloud demand into physical capex.
- Power equipment, cooling, backup, cabling and fibre scale with every new campus.
- That spend comes before AI apps themselves earn money.
Why now
- AI training and inference are driving India's fastest data-centre build-out yet.
- Power, cooling, compute and connectivity orders are arriving years ahead of past cycles.
What to watch
- Hyperscaler capex guidance
- New campus announcements and land acquisitions
- Grid-connection and power-purchase-agreement approvals
- GPU/accelerator allocation to Indian cloud providers
Major areas
The map groups the anatomy into these areas before you drop into individual components.
Site & Power
Grid interconnect, transformers, switchgear and backup power that keep the facility energised and running through outages.
Cooling
CRAC units, chillers and cooling towers that remove the heat dense compute racks generate.
Building & Fit-out
Structured and power cabling that wires the white space together once the shell is built.
Compute & Connectivity
Servers, GPUs and the fibre backbone that turn raw capacity into usable, networked compute.
Operations & Ownership
The operators and owners who run the campus commercially and lease capacity to cloud/enterprise customers.
Operators & landlords
The companies that own and run the data-centre campuses - colocation operators, hyperscale landlords and the REIT layer - and lease the finished capacity to cloud and AI customers.
Bharti Airtel
ListedParent of Nxtra Data, one of India's largest data-centre operators
CtrlS Datacenters
UnlistedIndependent hyperscale data-centre operator (Tier IV certified)
STT GDC India
UnlistedData-centre operator - JV between ST Telemedia and Tata group companies
Potential bottlenecks
- Global GPU/accelerator supply and allocation, largely outside India's controlServers, GPUs & Compute
- Import dependence on chips and high-end componentsServers, GPUs & Compute
- Power and cooling capacity gating how much compute a site can actually hostServers, GPUs & Compute
- Water availability for evaporative cooling in water-stressed regionsCooling: CRAC, Chillers & Towers
- Transition to liquid cooling for high-density AI racksCooling: CRAC, Chillers & Towers
- Long equipment lead times versus fast-moving capacity plansCooling: CRAC, Chillers & Towers
- Battery chemistry/supply for UPS systemsUPS & Diesel Backup Power
- Diesel emission-norm transitions raising genset costsUPS & Diesel Backup Power
- Rising backup-duration requirements as grids come under more stressUPS & Diesel Backup Power
- Grid interconnection approvals and timelinesTransformers & Switchgear
- Transformer manufacturing lead times during a capex upcycleTransformers & Switchgear
- Copper/core-steel input cost volatilityTransformers & Switchgear
- Copper price volatility feeding directly into cable costsStructured & Power Cabling
- Fit-out pace lagging shell constructionStructured & Power Cabling
- Fire-safety and cabling-standard compliance adding cost and timeStructured & Power Cabling
- Land and power-connection availability near demand centresDC Operators & REIT Layer
- Capital intensity of building ahead of signed demandDC Operators & REIT Layer
- Few India-listed pure-play operators - most exposure is indirect, through diversified parentsDC Operators & REIT Layer
- Right-of-way and permitting for new fibre routesFibre Backbone & Network Interconnect
- Industry-wide OFC pricing downcycles compressing marginsFibre Backbone & Network Interconnect
- Consolidation among a small number of domestic fibre makersFibre Backbone & Network Interconnect
Companies in this theme
25 companies, 23 listed. The 3 operators & landlords are listed above.
Netweb Technologies India
ListedHPC/AI servers, GPU systems and data-centre compute hardware
Company page →Amara Raja Energy & Mobility
ListedLead-acid and Li-ion battery banks for UPS backup power
Company page →CG Power and Industrial Solutions
ListedTransformers and switchgear for data-centre electrical yards
Company page →Transformers & Rectifiers (India)
ListedPower and distribution transformers for data-centre electrical yards
Company page →Voltamp Transformers
ListedPower transformers for industrial and data-centre electrical infrastructure
Company page →Schneider Electric Infrastructure
ListedPower distribution and electrical infrastructure (switchgear, transformers) for DC power rooms
Company page →Hitachi Energy India
ListedPower grid equipment (transformers, switchgear) for DC substations and grid interconnects
Company page →ABB India
ListedElectrical equipment, UPS, drives and automation for DC power and cooling systems
Company page →Apar Industries
ListedPower cables, conductors and transformers for DC campus grid connectivity
Company page →Sterlite Technologies
ListedOptical fibre and OFC data networking - largest OFC maker in India
Company page →Common questions
Which listed companies are in India's Data Center / AI Infrastructure supply chain?
NextResearch maps 23 listed companies across 7 layers of the Data Center / AI Infrastructure supply chain. The largest with high or medium exposure, by market cap as of 30 Oct 2026: ABB India (₹1.36L Cr); CG Power and Industrial Solutions (₹1.27L Cr); Cummins India (₹1.23L Cr); Hitachi Energy India (₹1.22L Cr); and Voltas (₹34,048 Cr).
What are the layers of the Data Center / AI Infrastructure supply chain?
7 layers: Servers, GPUs & Compute; Cooling: CRAC, Chillers & Towers; UPS & Diesel Backup Power; Transformers & Switchgear; Structured & Power Cabling; DC Operators & REIT Layer; and Fibre Backbone & Network Interconnect.
Who are the end players in Data Center / AI Infrastructure?
In the DC Operators & REIT Layer: CtrlS Datacenters (not NSE-listed) and STT GDC India (not NSE-listed). Also there, with low exposure: Bharti Airtel.
What are the bottlenecks in India's Data Center / AI Infrastructure supply chain?
Servers, GPUs & Compute: Global GPU/accelerator supply and allocation, largely outside India's control. Cooling: CRAC, Chillers & Towers: Water availability for evaporative cooling in water-stressed regions. UPS & Diesel Backup Power: Battery chemistry/supply for UPS systems. Transformers & Switchgear: Grid interconnection approvals and timelines. More by layer on this page.