New Delhi, March 31 -- Bharti Airtel announced a $1 billion investment in its data centre arm, Nxtra Data Limited, bringing in global investors to accelerate expansion amid surging demand for AI and cloud infrastructure in India.
The investment will be led by Alpha Wave Global ($435 million), The Carlyle Group ($240 million) and Anchorage Capital Group ($35 million), with the remaining capital to be infused by Airtel. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, and Airtel will retain a controlling stake in Nxtra.
The development underscores Airtel's push to scale its digital infrastructure business as India's data centre market enters a high-growth phase, driven by enterprise digitisation, cloud adoption and hyperscaler demand.
Nxtra plans to deploy the proceeds to expand its data centre footprint across the country and deepen its services portfolio spanning co-location, cloud infrastructure, disaster recovery and edge computing. The company currently operates 14 core data centres and over 120 edge facilities, and is building new AI-ready campuses in cities including Pune, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Gopal Vittal, executive vice chairman of Airtel, said Nxtra aims to scale its capacity from around 300 MW currently to 1 GW over the next few years, targeting roughly 25% market share.
The company has also positioned itself as an early mover in AI-led operations, deploying artificial intelligence for predictive maintenance, energy efficiency and automation across its facilities.
The investment comes as global capital chases India's fast-expanding data centre opportunity. According to Savills India, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of about 21% between 2024 and 2030, reaching nearly 3,400 MW of IT capacity.
Investors flagged India's AI-led demand curve as a key driver. Alpha Wave Global said it sees strong tailwinds from rising usage of AI platforms and large language models, which are expected to significantly increase data centre capacity requirements.
Carlyle, an existing backer, said Nxtra is well placed to capitalise on long-term digital infrastructure growth, citing its expanding capabilities and customer relationships.
Nxtra has also partnered with Google to develop a gigawatt-scale AI data centre campus, part of a broader $15 billion investment plan, signalling its ambition to emerge as a leading data infrastructure player in India.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from TechCircle.