Non-tech firms tap AI boom with GCCs, data centres

Non-IT companies including real estate, staffing and cab-hailing platforms are setting up GCC practices or investing in data centres to capitalize on growing tech needs as automation tools rewrite how companies run their business.

- Jas Bardia

A representative image of a person using a tablet to work on data centres.

(REUTERS)

At least three non-tech companies have set up partnerships or doubled down on investments in data centre infrastructure over the past 12 months while a couple of them have established global capability centre (GCC) practices, which help in designing and setting up GCCs.

Cab-hailing platform Uber entered into a partnership with the Adani Group to set up a data centre in Ahmedabad. Uber chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi announced the partnership on 14 May during his five-day visit to the country. The centre's capacity has not been disclosed but the facility is expected to go live by the end of 2026.

This comes eight months after Macrotech Developers Ltd (Lodha) entered the data centre business through a partnership with the Maharashtra government in September. So far, the real estate company has committed about ₹1.3 trillion for a 2.5-gigawatt (GW) data centre park.