When people talk about AI, they usually talk about chatbots. But every chatbot answer depends on a building full of machines, and those machines depend on cables. Some of the companies supplying them are Indian.
Bengaluru, October 3, 2026: The AI boom is creating demand for the physical equipment inside data centres, including optical fibre. Indian manufacturers such as Sterlite Technologies and HFCL are reporting record order books as global cloud companies expand AI data centres.
Why fibre matters for AI
An AI data centre is not one giant computer. It is thousands of processors that must exchange data at very high speed, and optical fibre carries that traffic. Industry analysts say AI-focused data centres need far more fibre per rack than traditional cloud ones. That is why makers of fibre and connectivity products are benefiting from the build-out, not only chip companies.
What the Indian companies report
Sterlite Technologies (STL) said its open order book reached a record ₹18,618 crore at the end of the April-June quarter. The company said it won a multi-year award worth more than $1 billion from a hyperscaler, a large cloud provider, to supply optical connectivity products for AI data centres in the United States.
HFCL reported a record order book of ₹26,665 crore and said exports contributed about 55.5% of its revenue in the quarter. The company raised its FY27 revenue growth guidance to at least 40%, approved ₹215 crore of investment in an AI-related business including a data-centre connectivity facility, and announced plans for a separate capacity expansion.
Mostly an export story, for now
An important point: these large orders largely come from overseas customers building data centres abroad. For Indian manufacturers, AI is first of all an export opportunity, as global demand outstrips local supply.
India’s own data-centre boom
India is also building at home. JLL says the country had about 1.64 GW of data-centre capacity in June 2026 and expects around 6 GW by 2029, with an estimated $110 billion of investment needed. Pre-committed hyperscale capacity accounted for 82% of first-half 2026 leasing. Cushman & Wakefield puts operational capacity at nearly 1.8 GW and the development pipeline at about 3.9 GW. The figures differ because the firms count capacity differently.
Large projects have been announced in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, including a planned 1 GW AI data centre at Visakhapatnam and a TCS-backed campus planned in Hyderabad.
What the numbers do not tell you
- An order book is not revenue. It is contracted work still to be delivered, usually over several years.
- A few large customers matter a lot. Big orders come from a small number of global cloud companies, so a change in their plans affects suppliers.
- Delivery and capacity are tests. Companies must produce and ship on time to turn orders into earnings.
- Global competition is strong. Indian firms are competing with established fibre makers worldwide.
What to watch next
- Quarterly results from Sterlite and HFCL, and how orders convert into revenue
- New hyperscaler contracts for Indian fibre makers
- Progress of India’s own AI data-centre projects, including in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
- Power and land availability, which can limit how fast data centres are built
This article is for general information and is not investment advice. DWN does not recommend any stock.
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