Data centre boom turns to IPOs as AI-driven capex rises

Rapid adoption of data-heavy platforms are prompting major players to tap public markets

- Agnidev Bhattacharya

Surging demand for AI-ready infrastructure is sharply raising capital needs.

(BLOOMBERG)

India’s data centre industry is shifting into a new phase in which public market listings and joint ventures are increasingly being looked upon as funding options.

Surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI-ready infrastructure is sharply raising capital needs, pushing operators to seek larger pools of capital for growth. Rapid adoption of data-heavy platforms and policy thrusts such as the government's Digital India mission are also prompting several major players to tap public markets. Last week, Sify Infinit Spaces Ltd became the country’s first pure-play data centre company to receive a regulatory nod for a ₹3,700 crore initial public offering (IPO). Of this, ₹1,325 crore is earmarked as capital expenditure (capex) for its data centres.

Yotta Infrastructure plans to pursue a domestic stock market listing before tapping US capital markets, reversing its earlier plans even as it keeps the option of a Nasdaq listing open under its existing structure, Sunil Gupta, chief executive officer of the data centre operator, told Mint, adding that the company could approach Indian markets as early as the next financial year, subject to execution.