A month of losses in US technology stocks has revived fears of an AI bubble. The sell-off has spread to Indian companies riding the AI buildout, from data centres to power and cooling suppliers. Though India lags in foundational AI, its listed firms are exposed to the global investment cycle. Are India's AI and IT stocks headed for a similar reckoning? Mint explores.
In September, Goldman Sachs identified 42 Indian companies outperforming global and Asian AI stocks. Of these, 34 fell an average 7% in October, a Mint analysis shows.
Anant Raj, a data centre operator, and Himadri Speciality Chemical, a supplier of materials used in cooling systems, led the losses, falling 25% each. Bharti Airtel and Blue Star were among the few major gainers.
The sell-off mirrored a broader correction: the Nasdaq fell 5% in October, with Intel down 45%, Google 19%, and Meta 15%.
Investors are questioning whether generative AI can deliver returns to justify the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in it. AI has yet to demonstrate consistent productivity gains or create higher-quality jobs to offset those displaced, while cybersecurity and sensitive enterprise data risks remain concerns.