Blackstone sees significant investment opportunities in India across artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, financial services, healthcare, renewable energy and manufacturing, with the private equity giant also remaining bullish on Indian information technology (IT) services firms despite concerns over AI-led disruption.

Jon Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, said digital infrastructure would be a key investment theme as AI adoption accelerates, creating demand for data centres, computing capacity and energy infrastructure. He also expects Indian IT companies to play an important role in helping businesses adopt AI and transform their operations.

“If you believe India is going to grow a lot, you look for where that growth will happen. I think it starts with digital infrastructure. AI is certainly going to grow, so we're focused on data centres, neoclouds, and creating compute capacity,” Gray said, speaking to CNBC-TV18.

He identified financial services, healthcare and credit as other areas of opportunity, driven by India's expanding middle class and rising demand for lending, wealth management and quality healthcare. Manufacturing is also gaining traction, particularly as India begins to focus more on export-oriented production.

Gray cited Blackstone's investment in automotive components maker Sona Comstar, which has exposure to the electric vehicle ecosystem, as an example of the opportunities emerging in Indian manufacturing.

Blackstone's focus on AI-linked infrastructure comes amid growing demand for computing capacity as companies increasingly deploy AI applications. Gray said the expansion of this infrastructure would also depend on access to reliable energy, highlighting the potential for renewable energy and solar power in India.

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