The ambit of Artificial Intelligence is expanding every day. From agriculture to aeronautics, there is literally limitless potential.
According to Goldman Sachs, global GDP could potentially increase by $7 trillion with AI. McKinsey estimates that total economic benefits of generative AI could potentially amount to $6.1 – 7.9 trillion annually.
These numbers do make an investment case for AI companies. But the big question is how do you choose, and what would be the best way to play AI stocks?
How to choose AI stocks for investment?
In the Indian context, as businesses make a beeline to enhance and incorporate more AI-driven technology, Financial Express.com, outlined the stock performance of some of the key AI plays in the Indian stock market now.
The rationale for choosing the companies is primarily based on the investment in AI, future allocation, and how it has changed the overall business dynamics along with market cap.
5 key AI stocks to track
Most companies in India today, from tech to tractors, are making significant AI investments to future-proof operations. However, it is impossible to track all of them. Here is a quick look at some of the top AI plays in India –
1. Tata Elxsi
The mention of AI stocks in India immediately brings the focus on Tata Elxsi. One of the marquee Tata Group stocks, the share price is up 10% in the last month and delivered over 600% returns in the last 5 years.
A global design and services company, it has come into focus recently on the back of its investments in AI and Gen AI. For FY26, the company aims to further leverage its AI footprint-
- Fastrack and execute strategic long-term deals signed with global auto majors
- Consolidate AI and design-led automotive capabilities for EVs, drones and robotics
- Penetrate further into Aerospace and Defence verticals
Tata Elxsi MD and CEO, Manoj Raghavan, added that “AI and Gen AI is taking centre stage in our investments in people, process and infrastructure. Over 85% of our talent base is now AI ready, and we have built a pool of over 500 specialists across domains.”
Some of the strategic deal wins in FY25, optimising its AI capabilities, has set the stage for long-term annuity revenue for the company.
2. Affle India
Affle India is another AI play in focus. The stock delivered 11% returns in 1 month. It has yielded 53% gains in the last year, and the 5-year gain for the stock is well above 400%.
For FY26, Affle retained a 20%+ organic growth target. Brokerage houses like Elara Securities estimate over 22% revenue growth between FY25-FY28 on a compounded basis.
Anuj Khanna Sohum, the Chairperson, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Affle 3i highlighted that they, “remain committed to investing in next-gen technologies that enhance the efficacy of conversion-driven marketing while fortifying our AI-powered consumer platform stack.”
Affle has posted margin gains every quarter in FY25 with Q4 margin at 22.2%, a 14-quarter high. Sustained cost structure and contained data inventory cost are key levers in the near term.
3. Zensar Technology
Zensar Tech is another interesting AI play. The share price is up nearly 15% in last 1 month and has delivered 37% gains in last 1 year. The 5-year gains exceed 600%.
The company’s Q4 performance has been steady with profit and revenue exceeding estimates. It has a solid TCV (Total Contract Value ) at $213.5 million, up 17% YoY. However, macro-economic uncertainty may impact demand and revenue growth in Q1FY26.
The highlight has been the significant improvement in utilizations, and the management highlighted upskilling of more than 50% of the workforce in AI and Gen AI in FY25.
Pulkit Bhandari, CFO, Zensar, commenting on the Q4FY25 & FY25 performance, said, “With a strong focus on verticalization, deepening service line capabilities and investing in AI solutions, we believe Zensar is well poised to capture upcoming opportunities.”
4. Persistent Systems
Persistent Systems is down over 14% in 2025. It has however, delivered 61% gains in last 1 year. Over 5 years, the stock has delivered a whopping 1,800% plus gains. Persistent highlighted that its AI-led offerings continue to find interest in client systems, and it is also helping them to win contracts.
The company has retained its $2 billion revenue target for FY27 and BFSI & hi-tech are expected to lead growth. The ask rate to reach FY27 revenue target is 19% growth each in FY26 and FY27, which looks aggressive in the backdrop of near-term headwinds in the healthcare vertical.
Speaking on the progress in the company’s AI roadmap, Sandeep Kalra Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer highlighted that, “We are working with leading technology companies and hyperscalers. Another paradigm of AI for tech pivot includes building our GenAI-enabled platform, SASVA, to accelerate software as well as application development.”
5. Bosch
Bosch shares are up 6% in 1 month and delivered modest 4% gains in 1 year. The 5-year returns are north of 170%. This is another key play on AI. An auto component and consumer durable maker, it uses AI across various arms of its business.
Using AI to enhance future efficiency is one of the core business themes driving the company. “The aim is to create intelligent and trustworthy AI products that live up to the motto of “Invented for life” and combine innovation with social responsibility,” the company highlighted.
In the past five years, Bosch has filed more than 1,000 AI invention-related patent applications, making it one of the leading AI patent applicants in Europe.
The right investment approach
However, Artificial Intelligence is a very dynamic and a fast evolving sector. Many of the AI stocks have surged significantly in the past year, but that alone is not an adequate reason for investing in these stocks. Careful analysis of business fundamentals is important. Investors also need to stay updated with the latest innovation. Moreover, investment approach will be dependent on an individual’s investment goals.