ESDS Software surges 235% in 4 sessions as AI infra fever grips markets

New Delhi: A four-day-old listing has already become one of the market's hottest bets on India's data-centre and artificial-intelligence boom. ESDS Software Solutions has more than tripled from its ₹429 a share IPO price, surging 235% in just four trading sessions as investors pile into the emerging AI infrastructure theme.

The stock hit its fourth straight upper circuit Wednesday, rising 10% to ₹1,438.85 on the NSE, after debuting at ₹757 on September 4, a 76% premium to its offer price.

The frenzy reflects expectations that India's cloud and AI infrastructure spending is entering a structural growth phase.


According to estimates India's cloud GPU market could grow at nearly 50% annually through FY30, while ESDS's $1.25-billion AI infrastructure contract with Sharon AI has sharply lifted earnings expectations.

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The broader investment thesis is gaining traction beyond ESDS. India's operational data-centre capacity could rise to nearly 4 GW by 2030 from about 1.5-1.7 GW in 2025 as cloud adoption and AI workloads drive demand.

The rally is also being amplified by a relatively tight float. ESDS's ₹720-crore IPO comprised 1.678 crore fresh shares at ₹429 apiece, with no offer-for-sale component, taking the post-issue non-promoter holding to about 59.4%.

Trading volumes have been unusually heavy as 15.8 million shares changed hands on the NSE on debut and another 12.8 million on September 8, equivalent to roughly 11% of the company's post-IPO shares, with 443,000 shares on the BSE marked for delivery that day.

The combination of a limited freely tradable pool and intense demand has helped amplify the stock's four-day surge.

"We believe India can realistically bring 30-40 GW of new data centre power online within the next ten years, backed by a rapidly expanding generation base, renewable capacity additions and a policy environment that treats digital infrastructure as strategic," Piyush Somani, chairman and managing director, ESDS Software Solutions Limited told ET. "Against today's installed base of roughly 1,545 MW, this is a structural shift."

The scale of the shift is becoming visible in the country's infrastructure planning. NITI Aayog's latest technology-services roadmap estimates that India's data-centre capacity, currently about 1.4 GW, could expand by 6-7 GW over the next decade, while calling for a much larger share of GPU-enabled facilities as artificial intelligence workloads grow.

"Artificial intelligence is turning data centres from enabling infrastructure into strategic infrastructure," EY India said, as rising demand for computing puts greater pressure on power, land and connectivity.