Simultaneously, another area of tech – artificial intelligence – is attracting investors in their droves. AI is already weaving itself into everyday business, powering decisions, automating processes, and creating new opportunities.
A few listed companies stand out in this space. Not only are they navigating the broader slowdown better than their IT peers, they are also outperforming the market.
Here are three AI stocks that investors can’t stop chasing.
Affle 3i: AI-driven adtech platform
Affle is a global technology company that provides mobile advertising solutions which power personalised recommendations and user conversions. It differentiates itself in the crowded adtech ecosystem with its return-on-investment (ROI)-driven cost-per-converted-user (CPCU) business model, while the broader industry relies on metrics such as cost per click.
Under this business model, the company generates revenue only when advertisers achieve meaningful business results. These outcomes include new user conversions (online), repeat conversions by existing users, as well as instances where online users drive footfall and transactions at physical retail stores. The CPCU model contributed 99.6% of revenue in FY25 and 99.9% in Q1FY26.
The core business relies on the Affle consumer platform stack, a unified consumer intelligence platform built for the mobile-first ecosystem. This asset-light platform uses advanced AI, machine learning and data analytics to drive targeted, scalable and high-intent engagement across connected devices.
The platform connects brands with a vast consumer base spanning more than 130 countries. Notably, Affle’s platform powered campaigns across 3.6 billion connected devices in FY25 and 3.7 billion in Q1FY26. Another strength is its intellectual property (IP) portfolio, which includes 36 unique patents – 15 granted and 21 pending – as of 31 July.
Affle’s revenue increased 23% year-over-year to ₹2,266 crore as conversions rose 25.6% to 39.3 crore. Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) grew 34% to ₹483 crore, and profit after tax (PAT) increased by 29% to ₹382 crore. The company also reported a 62% jump in operating cash flow to ₹426 crore.
This momentum continued in Q1FY26, with revenue rising 19.5% to ₹621 crore and PAT growing by 22% to ₹106 crore. Ebitda increased by 34% to ₹140 crore, while margin expanded by 239 basis points (bps) to 22.5%. This marked the fifth consecutive quarter of sequential margin expansion, underscoring improving operational efficiency.
Affle’s market presence remains diversified and resilient across geographies. In Q1FY26, India & emerging markets contributed 72.3% of revenue, while developed markets contributed 27.7%. It also boasts strong return ratios, with a 15% return on equity (RoE) of and a 17% return on capital employed (RoCE).
This growth stems from its strong focus on high-growth sectors, categorised as E (e-commerce, entertainment, edtech), F (fintech, FMCG, foodtech), G (gaming, government, groceries), and H (healthtech, hospitality & travel, home & other utilities). Its share price has increased by 30% to ₹2,050 in the past six months.
Affle 3i’s strategy has three core pillars: innovation, impact, and intelligence. Under intelligence, it plans to expand globally, leveraging its proprietary framework of ‘authentic, augmented, and actionable’ intelligence to accelerate growth. It aims to grow 10-fold by 2035 by embedding intelligence deeper into its platform stack, scaling product innovations, and focusing on maximising the return on ad spend.
NetWeb Technologies: AI-focused high-performance computing solutions
Netweb Technologies is India’s leading provider of high-end computing (HPC) solutions and the country’s largest manufacturer of supercomputing systems. It ranks among the top original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in terms of the number of HPC installations, with more than 500 systems deployed nationwide. It is a select manufacturing partner for the Nvidia Grace CPU Superchip and GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip MGX server designs.
Within HPC, Netweb’s portfolio features some of India’s most notable supercomputing projects including AIRAWAT (the country’s largest and fastest AI supercomputing system, ranked 75th globally), PARAM Ambar, PARAM Yuva-II, and Kabru. These are powered by its proprietary Tyrone Cluster Management suite. The segment contributed ₹406 crore or 35% of total revenue in FY25.
The company has also built capabilities in private cloud and hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) through its Tyrone Skylus brand. With over 50 installations, this segment generated ₹403 crore in FY25, accounting for another 35% of revenue and highlighting its balanced portfolio.
Netweb’s expertise extends well beyond infrastructure. Its systems power a wide range of advanced applications including generative AI, large and small language models, and machine learning and deep learning. To date, the company has deployed more than 5,000 accelerator- and GPU-based AI systems, as well as enterprise workstations. This segment contributed ₹169.4 crore or 14.8% of FY25 revenue.
A diversified client base has been a key strength. Netweb serves the higher education and research, space and defence, IT & ITES, BFSI, and other enterprise sectors. The mix of government (50.6%) and non-government (49.4%) was almost even in FY25. Importantly, the company enjoys strong stickiness, with 308 repeat customers (an average association of 5.6 years) and 81% of its revenue coming from repeat business.
On the financial front, Netweb is scaling rapidly. Revenue increased 59% year-on-year to ₹1,149 crore in FY25, supported by strong momentum across HPC, AI, and cloud offerings. Operating Ebitda also surged about 60% to ₹160 crore, while margin eased 30 bps to 13.9%. PAT surged 51% to ₹114 crore. Netweb also delivered healthy return ratios, with RoE at 24% and RoCE at 32.6%.
This momentum continued in Q1FY26. Revenue more than doubled (up 102% year-on-year) to ₹301 crore. Operating Ebitda surged 127% to ₹45 crore, with margin at 14.9%, while PAT jumped 100% to ₹30 crore. Growth was fueled by rising demand for AI systems and advanced computing infrastructure.
The outlook remains strong, with management targeting 35-40% annual growth. As of March 2025, Netweb had a robust pipeline of ₹3,971 crore, along with L1 orders worth ₹363 crore and a confirmed order book of ₹325 crore. Adding to this visibility, the company recently secured a ₹450-crore order for its Tyrone AI GPU accelerated systems.
Crucially, Netweb has also bagged a landmark ₹1,734-crore contract to power India’s sovereign AI infrastructure initiative. This project, scheduled for execution between late FY26 and early FY27, will leverage Netweb’s GPU-accelerated platforms built on Nvidia’s latest Blackwell architecture, underscoring its position at the centre of India’s AI build-out.
These orders have driven its share price up by 123% to ₹3,588 in the past six months.
Oracle Financial Services Software: riding Oracle’s AI wave in India
The company is a majority-owned subsidiary of Oracle Corporation, a global leader in technology. It provides IT solutions to the financial services industry worldwide through its two business segments.
The product business, its core segment, includes transaction banking solutions such as Oracle Banking and Oracle Flexcube, which together serve banks in over 140 countries, and analytical solutions under Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications. The services segment complements this by offering consulting and BPO solutions tailored to the financial services industry.
Its products are used by banks in more than 150 countries, and customers across more than 160 countries. In FY25, consolidated revenue came primarily (91%) from outside India – the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa.
As an established business, its has steady financials. Revenue from operations rose 7% year-on-year to ₹6,847 crore in FY25. Operating margin expanded by 200 bps to 44%, while PAT rose 7% to ₹2,380 crore. However, what has put the spotlight on OFSS is not just its steady growth but the blockbuster guidance of its parent firm, Oracle Corporation.
Oracle expects its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) revenue to grow 77% to $18 billion this fiscal year, and to $32 billion, $73 billion, $114 billion and $144 billion over the next four years. This guidance places Oracle firmly in the same conversation as hyperscalers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services.
The conviction behind this guidance comes from its swelling backlog. Oracle’s future contracted revenues surged 359% year-on-year to $455 billion. As enterprises worldwide accelerate AI adoption and shift to data-heavy workloads, the demand for modernised financial services infrastructure will likely grow in parallel.
This creates a natural tailwind for Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS), the India-listed arm, positioning it to ride the parent firm’s AI-led growth narrative. Its share price has increased by more than 13% to ₹8,999 over the past six months.
Tech investing is alive and kicking
The shift away from India’s traditional IT firms does not mean technology investing has lost its edge. Rather, it highlights how the narrative is shifting toward new opportunities created and shaped by AI. Affle is embedding intelligence into digital advertising, Netweb is powering India’s AI hardware backbone, and OFSS is set to benefit from its parent firm’s global AI-led cloud expansion. Each of these names represents a distinct layer of the AI ecosystem – consumer engagement, infrastructure, and enterprise solutions.
For more such analysis, read Profit Pulse.
Madhvendra has over seven years of experience in equity markets and writes detailed research articles on listed Indian companies, sectoral trends, and macroeconomic developments.
The writer does not hold the stocks discussed in this article.
The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points, and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educational purposes only.
