While US mega tech stocks remain central to the theme, he added that opportunities are now broader and more global.
India is well-placed to emerge at the forefront of global artificial intelligence adoption, supported by its rapid digitalisation and sophisticated financial-market ecosystem, according to Ben Powell, Chief Investment Strategist for the Middle East and APAC at the BlackRock Investment Institute. Overall, Powell noted that BlackRock remains positive on AI as a theme.
Speaking at Jio BlackRock AMC’s Market Outlook 2026, Powell said that India has made inroads in building world-class digital infrastructure. Powell argued that as AI moves into mainstream use across households, corporates and sovereigns, India is positioned to benefit meaningfully. As AI becomes more mainstream, he noted there is no reason why India cannot be at the forefront of adoption, driving productivity gains at the macro level and earnings gains at the micro level,” he said. “We’re not quite there yet, but India can absolutely be an AI story, perhaps more as an adopter than a supplier,” he noted in a separate interaction with CNBC TV 18.
Overall, on India, Powell noted that Indian equities could be an outperformer in 2026. He suggested that the fact that India is less directly geared into AI could be a silver lining because it provides real diversification. He also noted that the underperformance of India is not as bad, even though the relative underperformance to EM is maybe a 30-year extreme in 2025.
AI Fundamentals Remain Strong
BlackRock, he told Moneycontrol continues to maintain an overweight stance on the AI theme, with Powell emphasising that the investment case is grounded in solid fundamentals rather than hype. He dismissed comparisons to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, arguing that today’s AI-linked companies are showing undeniable financial strength.
“Today’s leading AI companies are making a huge amount of money. “They consistently surprise markets with robust revenues, cash flow and earnings. We can debate valuation, for sure, but there’s definitely something here. These are real companies making amazing amounts of money.”
Powell added that BlackRock expects earnings strength across AI-related sectors to extend into 2026, reinforcing the firm’s long-term conviction in the theme.
While US mega-tech companies remain central to the AI narrative, Powell said opportunities have broadened significantly across regions and sectors.
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“You need to be more thoughtful, and you can take that geographically,” he said, pointing to Asia as a region with outsized exposure to AI-driven growth. Countries across the region are ramping up investments in AI infrastructure, talent and data capabilities, creating new avenues for investors.
Beyond equities, Powell highlighted infrastructure as a critical and often overlooked part of the AI ecosystem. Data-centre buildouts, power generation and raw materials are all emerging as essential components of the global AI surge.
Copper, he noted, is becoming an important indirect play on AI due to sharply rising electricity consumption driven by data centres and high-performance computing. “When I say we are overweight the AI theme, yes, it’s US equities, but it’s many other things as well,” he said. “We want to diversify across the AI ecosystem wherever possible. This is our number one call.”
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