TECH INFRA CHAMPION

INDIA'S LARGEST IT SERVICES FIRM IS LOOKING TO BUILD AI-READY DATA CENTRES AND A SOVEREIGN CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH IT BELIEVES WILL GIVE IT AN EDGE IN THE NEXT DECADE.

- BY RUKMINI RAO

IN APRIL this year, at an event in New Delhi, India's largest IT services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), launched TCS SovereignSecure Cloud, a native Cloud infrastructure for government institutions, public sector enterprises (PSEs), and regulated industries. Built with integrated AI capabilities, the Cloud services will use the data centres in Mumbai and Hyderabad to store sensitive data within Indian shores and comply with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. The company also introduced TCS DigiBOLT, an AI-enabled low-code platform, and a Cyber Defense Suite to empower enterprises to fast-track digital innovation and cyber resilience. Later, during an analyst call after the company's Q2FY26 results, TCS announced plans to build a sovereign AI data centre with a capacity of up to 1 GW.

The extended scope of TCS (building physical tech infrastructure) is a deliberate extension of the company's ambition to become the world's largest AI-led technology services company, says CEO and MD K. Krithivasan. “There is a demand-supply mismatch for AI data centres in India. Understanding and addressing this market gap creates an adjacency for TCS, which we believe will give us long-term returns.”

Subsequent to the announcement, at the end of October, TCS incorporated its wholly owned subsidiary, HyperVault, to establish multiple AI and sovereign data centres for providing infrastructure and technology-enabled services. The company roped in private equity firm TPG Inc. as an equity partner. Together, TCS and TPG will invest up to ₹18,000 crore ($2 billion) in the coming years.