Adani To Grow Data Center Investment By $10 Billion On AI Demand
The port-to-power Adani Group has identified Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as possible locations for setting up two data centers of about 1 gigawatt capacity each.
Gautam Adani plans to invest an additional $10 billion to build data centers in India, people familiar with the matter said, as the billionaire looks to ride the boom in demand for artificial intelligence and business process-led services.
The port-to-power Adani Group has identified Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as possible locations for setting up two data centers of about 1 gigawatt capacity each, the people said, requesting not to be named as the information is private. The vision is to scale up the data center portfolio to 10 GW over time, they added.
Adani Group is eyeing business from foreign governments, with the focus on government-to-government contracts, the people said, adding the land acquisition is underway.
The move follows Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd.’s announcement in February to build a 1 GW data center in Gujarat’s Jamnagar town. Adani Group’s plans show that it’s doubling down on this sector after flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. last year announced plans to invest 500 billion rupees ($5.9 billion) for data center infrastructure in the western state of Maharashtra.
An Adani Group representative declined to comment on the data center investment plans.
The aggressive plans by Asia’s two richest men in India is in stark contrast to the global slowdown in this sector as giants including Microsoft Corp. take a harder look at their plans to set up the server farms powering AI and the cloud. Alibaba founder Joe Tsai in March warned of a potential bubble forming in data center construction.
Plowing Ahead
Indian billionaires, meanwhile, are plowing ahead, betting that demand will outstrip supply of data centers in the world’s most populous country. Last year, global capability centers — offshore units that handle the parent’s business processes — powered a record 77.2 million square feet of office space leasing in India’s key cities.
The biggest such complexes by capacity are located in the US and owned by tech giants. By comparison, the largest data centers operating in India currently have less than 1 GW of capacity, according to industry research firm DC Byte.
Adani Enterprises also has a 50:50 joint venture with global data center provider EdgeConnex Inc., called AdaniConnex Pvt. It has operations in Chennai and Hyderabad and is building facilities in Mumbai and Pune, according to its website
