Standard Engineering Technology Ltd. has entered the artificial intelligence arena by approving an acquisition of up to 51% equity stake in GScale Energy Private Ltd., marking its strategic entry into AI data centre engineering infrastructure. The BSE-listed precision engineering company announced that GScale Energy, led by founder and director Kasu Brahma Reddy, who was a former president of CtrlS Datacenters, operates approximately 4 lakh sq ft of operational infrastructure and aims to expand to 10 lakh sq ft by FY2028. This strategic move provides Standard Engineering with immediate access to GScale's domain expertise in the AI data centre segment rather than building capabilities organically. According to The Economic Times, the acquisition will expose Standard Engineering to hyperscaler relationships and ready-to-market Letters of Intent (LOIs), as reported by The Economic Times. The deal will accelerate SETL's entry into a market opportunity of $5.2–6.7 trillion in global AI datacenter capex by 2030.
The company plans to acquire the majority stake through a combination of primary capital infusion and strategic share-swap arrangement with GScale Energy's existing shareholders. The first phase of the transaction will involve approximately ₹190 crore, with Standard Engineering having committed this amount for the initial investment. The company has also approved a broader ₹500 crore self-funded investment plan for equity acquisition, capacity expansion and working capital. The programme will be entirely financed through internal cash flows, with no new borrowings required. As per The Economic Times, the proposed acquisition is part of SETL's engineering expansion strategy, extending its expertise in concept-to-commissioning engineering solutions serving the pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology industries into the rapidly growing AI datacentre sector.
Nageswara Rao Kandula, Managing Director of SETL, described this investment as "the natural evolution of everything SETL has built since 2013." According to The Economic Times, with GScale's domain expertise, SETL is building a platform to deliver complete, concept-to-commissioning AI Datacenter solutions at scale. Kasu Brahma Reddy, Founder & Director of GScale Energy, stated that joining hands with SETL is a transformative step for GScale, positioning them to deliver world-class AI Datacentre Engineering solutions for India's next generation of digital infrastructure. GScale Energy will continue to be led by its founder and leadership team while Standard Engineering provides strategic guidance, capital, and access to its manufacturing scale and integrated execution capability. The acquisition positions Standard Engineering to capitalize on the rapidly growing AI infrastructure market through GScale's established operational base.
Standard Engineering reported ₹793 crore revenue in FY2026 with an EBITDA margin of 17.4% and cash and liquid assets of around ₹220 crore. The company is targeting 40-50% revenue growth in its core engineering business during FY2027, supported by a strong order pipeline and ongoing growth initiatives. For the AI data centre vertical specifically, management has projected ₹250 crore revenue for FY2027, subject to project execution schedules and customer timelines. Manufacturing operations under the new AI infrastructure platform are expected to commence in November 2026.
Standard Engineering shares have staged a remarkable comeback, rallying 60.4% in June 2026 and touching a fresh record high of ₹236 per share. From its March low of ₹104.56, the stock has surged a whopping 104% to trade at around ₹214. The acquisition is expected to strengthen SETL's position in the fast-growing digital infrastructure sector by combining precision engineering, manufacturing capabilities and specialised data centre expertise. India's AI and hyperscale data centre infrastructure market is expected to attract investments of around USD 20-25 billion by 2030, presenting significant growth opportunities for the combined entity. According to The Economic Times, SETL intends to be a leading engineering partner in this build-out, positioning itself to serve the projected market requirement of approximately $20–25 billion through 2030.
