Artificial intelligence ecosystem could see a new wave of companies entering public markets in India over the next two to five years, potentially adding $50 billion to $100 billion to the market capitalisation of listed AI businesses, according to a Goldman Sachs report.
The report, India Strategy: India AI Complex, Part 2: The Rise of Private AI Contenders, Widening the Opportunity Set, published on October 19, 2026, identifies 84 private AI contenders with an estimated combined value of around $55 billion. Of these, 71 companies fall into growth, late-stage, infrastructure or buyout investment categories, with a combined estimated value of $54 billion.
Goldman Sachs describes these companies as mid-to-late-stage businesses, based on classifications from data provider Venture Intelligence. Historically, companies in these stages have taken around two to five years to reach an initial public offering (IPO).
Infrastructure could lead the next wave
The potential listing opportunity extends beyond AI model developers to companies building the infrastructure required to support artificial intelligence. Goldman Sachs estimates that upstream AI enablers, including power generation, transmission, equipment, semiconductors, data centres, cloud services and data management, account for around $35 billion of the private AI cohort’s estimated value.
Downstream AI adopters, which apply AI across sectors such as healthcare, financial services, enterprise software, cybersecurity and computer vision, account for an estimated $18 billion. Midstream AI core engine companies, focused on foundational models and model training, represent around $2 billion.
The report estimates that upstream AI enablers could account for 66% of the potential AI-related IPO market capitalisation over the next two to five years, followed by downstream AI adopters at 31%. Midstream AI core engines could contribute the remaining 3%.
How Goldman Sachs arrived at the estimate
The $50 billion to $100 billion estimate is based on a scenario in which 25% to 50% of the 71 mid-to-late-stage companies list over the next two to five years. The brokerage assumes a weighted-average IPO valuation of approximately four times their current estimated value, based on historical listing multiples.
Goldman Sachs says companies at these stages have historically listed at valuations two to ten times higher than their private funding-round valuations, although the multiple varies by investment stage.
The report names data centre operators CtrlS Data Centers, Nxtra Data, Pi Datacenters and Sify Infinit Spaces among its private AI contenders. It also identifies opportunities across enterprise AI services, conversational AI, cloud and data management, healthcare AI and computer vision.
However, the estimate is an illustrative scenario, not a confirmed IPO pipeline. Goldman Sachs explicitly states that it takes no view on the IPO plans or valuations of individual companies.
The broader opportunity reflects the changing composition of India’s AI ecosystem. If private companies reach the scale and maturity required for public listings, investors could gain access to a wider range of AI businesses beyond the infrastructure companies already represented in listed markets.
