Schneider Electric sees India data-centre unit becoming its biggest business

Schneider Electric expects its India data-centre business to grow faster than its broader operations and could make it the company’s largest unit within three to five years. The bet rests on India’s planned expansion in installed data-centre capacity, a surge in AI infrastructure spending and Schneider’s expanded local footprint after buying out its India subsidiary.

Why it matters: - Schneider Electric is tying a bigger share of its future growth to India’s data-centre buildout. - The company sees the market expanding fast enough that its India data-centre unit could become its single largest business within three to five years. - That would matter for customers building AI infrastructure, because Schneider sells the power and cooling equipment those projects need.

What happened: - Deepak Sharma, Schneider Electric’s managing director and zone president for Greater India, said the India data-centre business is expected to outgrow the rest of the company. - Sharma said the unit could become Schneider’s largest business in three to five years. - The forecast is based on India’s planned scale-up in installed data-centre capacity from about 1.5 gigawatts to between 6 and 8 gigawatts. - Schneider also pointed readers to its India store at More information.

The details: - Schneider already gets about 30% of global revenue from data centres. - The company reports annual revenue of about €40bn. - India now ranks as Schneider’s third-largest market. - Schneider employs about 38,000 people in India. - Schneider operates 31 factories in India and exports to more than 30 countries, including the United States. - Schneider bought the remaining 35% stake in its India subsidiary, SEIPL, from Temasek for €5.5bn last year. - The company said the buyout would speed up local decision-making. - Schneider has flagged about €150m in added financing costs in 2026 from the transaction. - Schneider’s Q1 2026 revenue rose 11.2% organically to €9.77bn. - The energy-management segment, which supplies data-centre power and cooling, rose nearly 13%. - The combined 2026 AI capital-expenditure program of major US hyperscalers is expected to exceed $650bn.

Between the lines: - India has a mismatch between data use and data-centre supply: the country produces and consumes around 20% of the world’s data but has only 3% of global data-centre capacity. - That gap is pulling in large investments from hyperscalers and domestic groups. - Google has committed $15bn to an AI hub in Visakhapatnam. - Adani Group has outlined a $100bn, 10-year build-out. - Microsoft and Amazon also have multi-tens-of-billions India programs. - Larsen & Toubro said earlier this year that it would partner with Nvidia on a sovereign AI factory in Chennai. - Schneider is positioned as a potential supplier to those projects. - Sharma said deployment costs per megawatt in India are at least 30% below the global average. - That cost advantage is pushing development beyond Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bengaluru into tier-two and tier-three cities. - Edge sites for low-latency AI inference workloads are likely to drive the next wave of capacity. - Copper and silver costs remain a pressure point for Schneider because its products use both materials at volume. - Sharma said Schneider has been passing those costs through to the market. - He added that a prolonged conflict in West Asia would add pressure on plastics and transportation. - Power supply remains the core constraint behind many AI data-centre plans, but Schneider did not address it directly.

What’s next: - The next several quarters will show whether announced projects turn into orders for Schneider and other equipment vendors. - Schneider’s India growth will depend on how quickly India’s data-centre capacity moves from 1.5 gigawatts toward the 6-to-8-gigawatt range. - The company’s local expansion, customer wins and cost pressures will be key markers to watch.

The bottom line: - Schneider is betting that India’s AI infrastructure boom becomes a major revenue engine, not just a growth market, and that the country’s data-centre buildout flows through its power equipment business.