Blackstone-backed data center operator AirTrunk stated on Friday it would make investment of $30 billion in India by 2030, including to a wave of commitments from technology and infrastructure groups searching to extend computing capability in the country.
The Australian company stated it would develop 5 gigawatts of new data center capacity in India, one of the largest commitments to the South Asian countries digital infrastructure sector. AirTrunk entered India earlier this year via the acquisition of Lumina CloudInfra.
AirTrunk’s commitment underlines India’s developing appeal as a destination for AI infrastructure, as tech companies and investors are seeking for new geographies to amplify computing capacity. Data center capacity within the nation is projected to expand to as much as 8GW by 2030 from about 1.5GW today, as per research firm Bernstein.
The Indian government has also taken steps to attract investment in AI infrastructure. Earlier this year, New Delhi presented foreign cloud vendors tax exemptions through 2047 on services sold overseas if those workloads are run from Indian data facilities.
AirTrunk has already started laying the groundwork for its enlargement in the country. Earlier this week, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated in a post on X that the western Indian state had exchanged a letter of purpose for land allotment at the Raigad Pen Growth Center, in where AirTrunk is planning a 3GW data center related to an investment of approximately ₹2 trillion (around $21 billion). The company already has a development pipeline of approximately 600MW across Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
AirTrunk did not respond to inquires on whether the proposed Raigad venture might account for most of the planned 5GW capacity, or whether it plans to make additional developments elsewhere in India.
The declaration follows a assembly among AirTrunk CEO Robin Khuda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who stated in a post on X that the deliberate investment would assist reinforce India’s position as a worldwide hub for cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
AirTrunk joins a developing list of companies making an investment in infrastructure in the nation. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Uber have declared fundamental investments in cloud and AI infrastructure, whilst Indian companies Reliance Industries, Adani Group, and TCS have laid out ambitious plans to extend data center capability.
Moreover, data facilities need huge amount of electricity, water and land, and industry executives and analysts have pointed to resource issues as a potential bottleneck, mainly regarding power.
Deloitte estimates data center build-outs in the Asia Pacific should need tens of terawatt-hours of additional electricity by end of the decade.
AirTrunk’s investment thesis is underpinned by authorities support, a big pool of technical talent, and access to renewable energy, Khuda stated.
