ET@Davos 2026: Transformational opportunities popping up in Indian manufacturing, says Brookfield PE CEO Rajan

Davos: With AI as the catalyst for the fourth Industrial Revolution, $7 trillion has already been pumped into the enabling infrastructure, based on the use cases known today. That will shoot up in the future, creating some of the best applications in traditional industrial or manufacturing businesses, Anuj Ranjan, CEO of Brookfield’s private equity group, told ET at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

As productivity rises, de-globalization will result in higher capital investments to fund the push to produce locally.

“If you look at US manufacturing, the investment to build or expand plants was $50 billion in 2020--this year it'll be $250 billion,” Ranjan said. “That's created a massive need for cash from major companies.”


With more than $1 trillion AUM, Brookfield has grown into one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers. Ranjan alone oversees $151 billion across six funds. In India, investment opportunities are emerging, away from consumer, tech and services industries that have traditionally attracted maximum PE capital and toward manufacturing, he said.

Most excited about industrials & traditional manufacturing in India for our investments: Anuj Ranjan

“They have been overlooked and maybe a bit undeservingly unloved,” said Ranjan, who is confident that the target of $100 billion AUM for the India franchise in the next five years is highly possible. “There's a lot of opportunity to transform them faster because of technology. They don't need to only be export driven.”