Goldman Sachs estimates Indian AI IPOs could lift listed market capitalisation by $50 billion to $100 billion within two to five years, IANS reported from New Delhi on 21 October. The projection comes from a Goldman Sachs report examining India’s private AI companies and their potential move onto public markets.
Key points
- Goldman Sachs projects that 25 to 50 per cent of nearly 70 mid-to-late-stage private AI companies could seek IPOs over two to five years.
- The bank’s scenario assumes listing valuations averaging about four times the companies’ current estimated worth.
- The report estimates that upstream AI enablers could account for roughly 66 per cent of the potential value of future AI-related listings.
Nearly 70 companies underpin Goldman Sachs projection
Goldman Sachs examined nearly 70 mid-to-late-stage private AI companies for its IPO scenario. It projects that between 25 per cent and 50 per cent of them could seek public listings within two to five years. The bank estimates that those listings could take place at valuations averaging about four times the companies’ current estimated worth.
The projected addition to listed market capitalisation depends on both parts of that scenario: how many companies reach the market and the valuations they obtain. Goldman Sachs frames the $50 billion to $100 billion range as a potential outcome, rather than proceeds from IPOs already arranged.
In a broader group, Goldman Sachs identified 84 private firms it called “Private AI Contenders”, with a combined estimated value of $55 billion, IANS reported. Those firms have accounted for nearly 40 per cent of AI-related private capital raised in India since 2025. The group covers businesses across the AI value chain.
Timothy Moe, Goldman Sachs’ co-head of Asia macro research and chief Asia-Pacific equity strategist, said the prospective IPOs could bring parts of that value chain into India’s listed AI market that have had less representation there. His assessment concerns the range of companies investors might be able to buy, alongside the bank’s projection for their aggregate market value.
Upstream AI enablers valued at around $35 billion
Goldman Sachs’ report values the opportunity in upstream AI enablers at around $35 billion. The category spans data centres, cloud and data-handling services, chip design, semiconductor suppliers, electricity production and power networks, and information processing based on subatomic behaviour. The bank estimates that upstream enablers could contribute roughly 66 per cent of the potential value of future AI-related listings.
Private equity funding for Indian AI startups has tripled since 2024, according to the Goldman Sachs report. AI’s share of total private equity allocations has risen fourfold, reaching about one-fifth of all private capital invested in India. The report places India among the top six destinations globally for private AI funding and the top four countries for newly funded AI companies.
The funding figures concern private investment, while the bank’s market-capitalisation range concerns companies that may list over the coming years. Goldman Sachs’ estimate for upstream businesses puts much of the prospective listed value in the infrastructure and services used to build and operate AI systems.
Barclays weighs a return to India IPO underwriting
Investment banks are also assessing India’s broader IPO market. Barclays plans to rebuild an Indian equity capital markets business and compete for share-sale mandates, Siliconindia reported on 14 October. The move would return the bank to that business after nearly a decade. It plans to add bankers and other resources as it builds the operation.
Pramod Kumar, Barclays India chief executive and Asia-Pacific investment banking vice-chairman, discussed the plans at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi. He said establishing the business would take time. Barclays already arranges and syndicates rupee-denominated bond issues, a separate activity from underwriting IPOs.
India has also seen sharp gains in an individual technology listing. AI Affairs reported that ESDS shares gained more than 300 per cent after the cloud company listed in September. Barclays has put more than £500 million ($664 million) of capital into India over the past five years, according to Kumar.
