Everyone’s talking about data centers these days. With Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud, and the sheer amount of data we create, India is building these massive server hubs faster than ever.
The obvious way to invest in this trend is to bet on the big names everyone already knows. But there’s a quieter and smarter way to play it.
Think of a gold rush. The people who made steady money weren’t always the ones digging for gold but they were the ones selling shovels to everyone who showed up to dig.
Data centers work the same way. They can’t run without power, backup, cooling, and cabling. And the companies that supply all of that will generate revenues matter which data center comes out on top.
That’s the idea behind proxy investing. Instead of betting on one winner, you back the businesses that support the whole ecosystem.
So keeping that in mind, let’s look at 5 proxy data center stocks worth watching.
#1 KRN Heat Exchanger
First on the list is KRN Heat Exchanger.
The company provides advanced thermal management and cooling solutions that are critical for modern digital infrastructure, including data centers.
As artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital connectivity continue to scale globally, the demand for robust and reliable cooling systems has intensified.
KRN addresses this need by enabling efficient heat dissipation across data centers, which form the backbone of the digital economy, ensuring uninterrupted operations and protection of mission-critical infrastructure.
The company’s coil design supports a range of applications, from large-scale cooling systems in commercial complexes to precision cooling in data centers and other critical infrastructure. These solutions are vital for cold chain logistics.
As cooling systems account for nearly 40% of a data center’s total energy consumption, efficient heat exchangers play a crucial role in reducing energy usage and operating costs.
This makes KRN Heat Exchanger a proxy play to ride the data center opportunity.
Coming to its financials, KRN’s sales and net profit have grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40% and 71% respectively over the past three years.
Its return on equity (ROE) and return on capital employed (ROCE) have averaged 32% and 41% respectively during the same period.
Recently, the company has added bus air conditioning segment to its kitty, which provides strong growth visibility.
KRN Heat Exchanger – 1 Year Share Price
Data Source: BSE
#2 Voltamp Transformers
Second on the list is Voltamp Transformers.
The company is a well-established manufacturer of energy-efficient transformers, backed by over 62 years of industry experience.
It specialises in design, manufacture, and supply of both oil-filled and dry-type transformers, catering to a wide range of end-user segments including steel, cement, power, and data centers.
For Voltamp, a key growth driver remains the momentum in green energy and data center projects supported by consistent policy direction and investment under India’s energy transition programs.
Given the increasing power requirements of data centers and the need for efficient, high-reliability transformers, Voltamp Transformers emerges as a proxy for the data center.
The company’s product range is so vast that it caters to over 1,000 customers across end-use industries such as power, oil refinery, textile, chemical, real estate, automobile, infrastructure and steel.
Coming to Voltamp’s financials, its sales and net profit have grown at a CAGR of 18% and 30% respectively over the past 5 years.
Its ROE and ROCE have averaged 18% and 23% during the same period.
Voltamp is currently investing Rs 2,000 million in a new greenfield EHV transformer facility near Vadodara, set to add 6,000 MVA of annual capacity.
Its order book remains robust, with Rs 19,810 m in fresh orders secured in FY26 on top of an opening backlog of Rs 9,380 m, providing revenue visibility.
With a debt-free balance sheet, expanding EHV capacity, and deep-rooted customer relationships across power, industrials, data centers, and renewable energy, Voltamp is positioned as a high-quality compounder in India’s data center space.
Voltamp – 1 year share price
Data Source: BSE
#3 Voltas
Third on the list is Voltas.
The Tata group company has emerged as a key player in the data center proxy segment as it provides cooling systems to it.
The company’s Commercial Air Conditioning (CAC) division has seen steady growth, driven by innovation and an expanding portfolio tailored to large-scale cooling needs.
A key focus area for Voltas has been the development of indigenised centrifugal chillers at its Waghodia facility, specifically suited for high-capacity, mission-critical environments.
These solutions are increasingly relevant for data centers, where uninterrupted operations, high energy efficiency and precise temperature control are essential.
With the long-term tax exemption encouraging global cloud players to scale data center capacity in India, the rising demand for efficient cooling solutions makes Voltas a proxy data center stock to watch.
Coming to its financials, Voltas’ sales and net profit have grown at a CAGR of 15% and 10% respectively over the past 5 years.
Its ROE and ROCE have averaged 8% and 12% respectively during the same period.
As of March 2026, the company’s total order book for electro mechanical projects, which includes data centers, stands at Rs 62 bn, which provides strong revenue visibility.
The management, in its recent earnings presentation, has said they will focus on execution and seasonal readiness, with refreshed RAC lineups and calibrated pricing, as Voltas gets geared to meet peak season demand. This includes the new capacity ramp at Pantnagar and Chennai.
Voltas – 1 Year Share Price
Data Source: BSE
#4 RR Kabel
Fourth on the list is RR Kabel.
Over the years, the company has grown into a prominent player in India’s consumer electrical products industry.
It operates through two segments, Wires & Cables (W&C) and Fast-Moving Electrical Goods (FMEG) with products including fans, lighting, switches, appliances, and switchgear.
The company has built an extensive pan-India distribution network comprising over 4,400 distributors, 4,500 dealers, and 191,000+ retailers, along with a large ecosystem of electricians.
Coming to its data center angle, every data center is, at its core, a building that runs on power and a staggering amount of it.
So before a single server rack lights up, miles of wires and cables have to be laid to carry that electricity safely through the facility. That’s exactly the business RR Kabel sits in.
As India races to build hyperscale data centers to feed the AI and cloud boom, demand for high-quality power cables, control cables, and wiring infrastructure is expected to go up.
So while RR Kabel doesn’t build the servers or runs the cloud, it sells the picks and shovels that make these power-hungry facilities possible.
Coming to RR Kabel’s financials, the company’s sales and net profit have grown at a CAGR of 25% and 21% respectively over the past 5 years.
It ROE and ROCE have averaged 15% and 22% respectively during the same time.
Recently in Q4FY26, the company reported its highest-ever quarterly and annual revenue despite heightened geopolitical tensions.
For FY27, the management has guided for 9.5% margins driven by healthy demand.
It is currently carrying out a Rs 12 bn capex plan spread over FY26 to FY28, with Rs 3 bn spent in FY26 and FY27 expected to see major expansion.
RR Kabel Share Price
Data Source: BSE
#5 Kirloskar Oil Engines
Last on the list is Kirloskar Oil Engines.
Kirloskar Oil Engines is a leader in the production of internal combustion engines, generator sets, and farm equipment, with a good global presence.
Additionally, it produces engines for construction machinery. It specialises in producing liquid-cooled and air-cooled generator sets with a broad range of power outputs (3kVA to 12,000 kVA).
It is widely used in markets for specialised fishing engines, power tillers, diesel and electric pump sets, and more. With offices in Dubai, South Africa, Kenya, and the US, the company has a robust distribution network.
But how does an engine maker actually fit into the data center story? It comes down to one word every data center operator loses sleep over: uptime.
A data center can never go dark, even a few seconds of downtime can mean lost data, broken transactions, and angry clients. But the grid isn’t perfectly reliable, especially in India. So when the power cuts out, backup power kicks in and that’s Kirloskar’s turf.
Those generator sets spanning 3kVA all the way up to 12,000 kVA are exactly the kind of heavy-duty backup that large facilities need to stay online through an outage.
Coming to Kirloskar’s financials, its sales and net profit have grown at a CAGR of 13% and 20% respectively over the past 5 years.
The ROE and ROCE have averaged 13% and 16% during the same time.
Currently, the company is pursuing its 2B2B strategy, which aims to achieve US$ 2 billion in consolidated revenue by fiscal 2030.
To support this objective, it has undertaken large-scale capacity additions at its Kagal plants and to expand its presence in the HHP segment and increase capacity utilisation in the B2C segment.
The company also intends to improve its market share in the B2C segment, focus on the industrial segment and explore opportunities in non-internal combustion engine solutions.
Kirloskar Oil Engine Share Price – 1 Year
Data Source: BSE
Conclusion
So there you have it, five companies that don’t run a single server, but will generate revenue as India’s data center boom plays out.
That’s the beauty of proxy investing. Instead of trying to guess which data center operator comes out on top, you back the businesses quietly supplying the power, backup, cooling, and cabling that every one of them needs.
That said, a quick word of caution. For most of these companies, data centers are just one part of a much bigger business. So don’t expect the data center story alone to move the needle.
Investors should evaluate the company’s fundamentals, corporate governance, and valuations of the stock as key factors when conducting due diligence before making investment decisions.
Happy investing.
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