Rethinking Cloud for India’s next billion businesses

India’s digital backbone is shifting- startups and SMBs now demand Cloud that’s lean, local and law-ready. No more vendor traps. No more bloated bills. Just infrastructure that scales with ambition and stays rooted in control

- BHARTI TREHAN

As Indian enterprises embrace digital transformation, the demand for agile, secure and cost-efficient Cloud infrastructure is reshaping the Cloud services landscape. Neon Cloud, a next-generation Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform founded by Sarthak Hooda, is positioning itself as a differentiated alternative to global hyperscalers. Backed by the enterprise IT legacy of its parent company, Neon Cloud works to address the specific needs of startups and SMBs in India—focusing on affordability, data sovereignty, security and scalability. In this exclusive conversation, Sarthak Hooda, Founder and CEO of Neon Cloud, outlines the platform's strategic pillars and its vision to redefine the Cloud experience in India.

Helping startups and SMBs balance performance with cost optimisation

“At Neon Cloud, we believe startups and SMBs shouldn't have to choose between performance and affordability,” says Hooda.

“Our infrastructure is built to deliver enterprise-grade performance without the overhead of hyperscaler pricing. We've engineered our platform to be lean, modular and scalable so businesses can start small and grow without friction. We don't bill for excess compute or unused services. Instead, we optimise for actual usage and offer transparent pricing that aligns with Indian business models. Our approach is not just cost-effective, it’s cost-intentional, tailored for the kind of agility and resourcefulness that young businesses thrive on.”

Redefining flexibility with a no vendor lock-in model

With growing concerns over data control and digital sovereignty, Neon Cloud has built its platform around flexibility and transparency.

“The future of Cloud in India will be defined by control, not just of costs but of data, architecture and decisions. Therefore, our no vendor lock-in model is rooted in that principle,” explains Hooda.