Mumbai (India) (AFP) – At a bustling factory in western India, technicians work around the clock to turn glass into hair-thin fibre-optic strands destined for data centres powering the global artificial intelligence boom.
Issued on: 31/07/2026 - 04:22
5 min Reading time
Indian manufacturers are cashing in on the AI infrastructure buildout by supplying cables, power systems and cooling equipment -- even as investors worry the country is falling behind in the race to develop the technology.Analysts at Nomura describe it as a classic "picks and shovels" trade, a riff on how selling tools during a gold rush can earn people more than searching for the precious metal.
Technicians work around the clock to turn glass into hair-thin fibre-optic strands destined for data centres © Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP
