In an interview with Mint, CMD Piyush Somani laid out an ambitious AI chip rental strategy to drive growth. But compounding revenue 2.5 times every year remains a rare…
ESDS Software Solution Ltd, headquartered in Nashik, has set an ambitious target of reaching $5 billion in annual revenue within five fiscal years, according to chairman and managing director Piyush Somani. The company's strategy centres on renting high-performance AI chips, known as GPUs, to businesses and the Indian government. Somani told Mint that capturing even 1% of the market over five years would push revenue past $5 billion. The company went public on 4 September, listing at ₹908.40 per share against an IPO price of ₹429. Its shares now trade at ₹1,434, and its market capitalisation stands at ₹16,800 crore.
The revenue math is steep. ESDS closed FY26 with ₹472.21 crore in revenue, a 31% increase. Hitting its target requires compounding revenue roughly 2.5 times annually for five years, a pace rarely seen outside US tech giants and foundational AI firms such as Anthropic.
Why It Matters For Businesses
ESDS has leaned on large GPU rental contracts, including a $1.25-billion, five-year deal with Australian firm Sharon AI signed in March. That agreement could yield about $250 million annually. The arrangement carries risk: if the client cancels, ESDS may be left with upfront GPU investments. Somani said capacity is fully contracted, with more deals in the pipeline, and that unused capacity could be re-leased at higher rates given rising GPU prices. He added that substantial customer advance payments fund projects, with limited debt and fresh equity.
GPU-as-a-service is expected to contribute nearly 75% of revenue in the near term, while data centres and other IT services make up the rest. In FY26, infrastructure-as-a-service accounted for 44% of revenue, managed cloud services 41%, and software sales 15%. ESDS runs five data centres in India but has not disclosed operational capacity.
What To Watch Next
Power availability is a stated constraint. Somani said customers worldwide struggle to secure adequate power, calling it the biggest limi…
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