Indian Companies Riding the AI Revolution

There are no perfect relationships or partners. It's how you accept the imperfections that make it perfect.

Well, no more, I guess.

Thanks to AI, now you can design your perfect partner and relationship, a custom made one.

Or could use it to save your marriage.

So claims a US based man, who was planning a divorce post his failed struggle to support his wife during depression.

He instead found emotional support from an AI bot that was trained on large sets of data.

He was inspired and began to treat his wife the way his AI girlfriend treated him, with love, support, and no judgements. He claims this has helped him keep his family together.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

The renowned billionaire Bill Gates sees AI as something that could relieve humans from the burdens of daily tasks, allowing them the privilege to work for just three days a week. And then there are cases of stolen identities through deepfakes.

You could cry foul about the world getting more and more dystopian, or dream of a three day work week.

But the AI revolution, with all its pros and cons, is here and is likely to stay.

Just like us, some companies are gladly adopting it, in fact leading it. Others are left with no choice but to adapt.

For every listed Indian company taking a serious step to adapt to AI and integrate in its processes and offerings, there are a few just focusing on riding the wave with appearances.

Just run a search for "AI" in the investor documents, and you will find companies from every sector trying to join the bandwagon.

But there is one that deserves special mention for taking it a bit too far.

In a recent announcement, the Board of Dhyaani Tile and Marblez has approved the name change to 'Dhyaanii Artificial Intelligence Ltd' or 'Dhyyaani Artificial Intelligence Ltd' or such other name.

This reminds me of the dot com bubble. All a company needed to get rerated or raise money was add a dot com in its name. We all know how that blind chase for internet business and theme ended.

And we don't even have to go that far in history.

In the post Covid era itself, when cheap money led to bitcoin surge, hundreds of new crypto currencies emerged overnight. Most of them disappeared without a trace, leaving many poorer.

So, while AI and technology could be the theme to bet on, the real deal would be to select the real players that benefit from the rise of AI and ML (artificial intelligence and machine learning).

Now here is one thing that we should acknowledge. That it will take some time before we catch up with players like OpenAI, or Nvidia.

Indian companies that are working on developing AI based solutions for NLP i.e., Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning include TCS, Wipro, Infosys, and Persistent Systems.

They are more likely to be trend followers than coming up with something revolutionary such as ChatGPT.

We indeed need to extend the watchlist to companies like Rategain Travel Technologies Ltd.

The company is the largest SAAS (software as a service) player in travel and hospitality segment in India.

It helps the clients like hotels, airlines, online travel aggregators like Expedia to acquire guests, service them, and drive engagement with them to command better wallet share through its AI powered tech platform.

While Rategain is highly focused on travel business, Affle (India) Ltd is an adtech firm that uses an inhouse data management platform (DMP) with a reach covering over 3 bn devices.

Huge access to data, along with artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) capabilities drives its real time predictive algorithm.

Through Affle, the advertisers, the company's clients, are able to show high impact and contextual advertisements at different touch points of a consumer's journey on the mobile phone and other digital devices. This is right from its purchase to the time it is discarded.

The company also offers a fraud detection platform to help maximise the return on investment (RoI) for its clients.

Then there are companies like Redington Ltd, that is not the frontrunner in developing deep tech but is well placed to ride such trends.

It is one of the biggest distributors of Apple products in India, a fast-growing market for the global giant.

It also enjoys strong partnerships with the hyperscalers and the SaaS brands, leading to strong growth opportunities in the cloud business.

The rule book for participating in AI or any trending theme is simple.

Avoid loss making companies. Or companies that are growing too fast with unsustainable balance sheets.

Focus on players that have become critical in the ecosystem. They may not be direct players or beneficiaries. But you do not have to chase gold to make money during a gold rush.

Sometimes, better opportunities could be in the offing if you bet on pick and shovel suppliers.

Warm regards,


Richa Agarwal
Editor and Research Analyst, Hidden Treasure
Equitymaster Agora Research Private Limited (Research Analyst)