Blackstone-backed hyperscaler AirTrunk has committed over ₹3 lakh crore ($30 billion) to develop 5 gigawatts of data centre capacity in India by 2030. Following a meeting between CEO Robin Khuda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the historic expansion aims to establish India as a premier hub for global AI and cloud infrastructure.
NEW DELHI — Hyperscale data centre specialist AirTrunk has announced a massive investment program of over ₹3 lakh crore ($30 billion) in India, aiming to develop more than 5 gigawatts (GW) of digital infrastructure capacity by 2030. Announced on Friday, June 5, 2026, the long-term project positions India as a primary cornerstone of the company’s global growth strategy and marks one of the largest foreign capital commitments to the nation's technology sector.
The strategic rollout directly responds to surging domestic and international demand for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, sovereign cloud computing, and high-capacity data storage. The move follows a high-level meeting in New Delhi between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AirTrunk Founder and Chief Executive Officer Robin Khuda.
Expanding the Hyperscale Footprint Across Key States
The multi-billion-dollar initiative represents a sharp escalation of AirTrunk’s presence in the Indian market, coming just weeks after its initial entry. In April 2026, the Sydney-headquartered firm acquired Lumina CloudInfra, which provided an initial 600-megawatt (MW) development pipeline distributed across the primary technology hubs of Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
The expanded ₹3 lakh crore master plan will see the deployment of ultra-large-scale data centre campuses across multiple states and union territories. The centerfield of this strategy includes a massive 3GW campus at the Raigad Penn Growth Centre on the outskirts of Mumbai. AirTrunk has already executed a formal letter of intent for land allotment with the Maharashtra government for this flagship asset, which industry analysts estimate will require a baseline expenditure of approximately $21 billion.
Strategic Capital Backing and Policy Alignment
AirTrunk’s investment campaign is fully backed by its parent institutional asset managers, Blackstone—one of the largest foreign investors in India—and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). This capital injection coordinates with intense state-led efforts to establish India as a competitive, safe-harbor alternative for global technology infrastructure amid shifting geopolitical balances.
During executive-level consultations in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, corporate leaders focused on securing necessary baseline provisions. These include streamlined single-window regulatory approvals, long-term sustainable water infrastructure for advanced cooling liquid operations, and access to cost-effective, high-voltage renewable energy grids to power continuous AI computing.
The firm explicitly cited India’s robust regulatory environment as a key factor in its investment decision. Flagship programs like the IndiaAI Mission, supported by more than ₹10,000 crore ($1.2 billion) in federal funding, and the ₹76,000 crore ($9 billion) India Semiconductor Mission, have established concrete parameters that give large-scale international infrastructure funds the confidence to deploy multi-decade capital.
Official Sources Section
Data from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) indicates that India is on track to expand its global share of digital infrastructure. Market data compiled by technology research firm Counterpoint Research highlights the scale of this transition:
Capacity Expansion: India currently accounts for roughly 3% of global data centre capacity, but domestic and foreign projects could expand this footprint nearly tenfold by 2030.
Leasing Activity: AI-related colocation leasing more than doubled over the past year to 348MW, representing nearly 20% of all new commercial data centre demand.
AirTrunk’s 5GW target will single-handedly support a significant portion of the government’s broader ambition to establish 10 gigawatts of aggregate domestic data centre capacity by the turn of the decade.
Quote Section
Following the high-level bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the development via an official statement on his verified communication channels:
"India's digital infrastructure journey is gathering remarkable momentum. AirTrunk has announced plans to invest around Rs 3 lakh crore ($30 billion) in India and develop 5 GW of data centre capacity. This is among the largest proposed investments in the country's digital infrastructure ecosystem. Such investments will strengthen India's position as a global hub for cloud computing and AI, while generating employment opportunities, supporting local supply chains and accelerating innovation-led growth."
Why It Matters
For domestic businesses, engineering industries, and local job seekers, the implementation of 5GW of hyperscale capacity acts as a major economic multiplier. AirTrunk noted that the developmental and operational phases of these hyper-campuses will generate tens of thousands of local jobs.
Furthermore, the scale of this investment forces the localization of critical engineering supply chains. It creates direct business-to-business (B2B) demand for domestic component manufacturers, heavy electrical grid suppliers, advanced cooling systems engineers, and local construction enterprises. For everyday consumers, a robust domestic data network ensures lower latency for digital applications, strengthens local data localization protection, and secures the foundational processing power required to run next-generation consumer AI tools.
Key Facts at a Glance
Historic Capital: AirTrunk will invest over ₹3 lakh crore ($30 billion) in India by 2030 to build out advanced digital infrastructure.
Power Target: The program aims to establish 5 gigawatts of data centre capacity, focusing heavily on hyperscale AI-ready systems.
Institutional Backing: The rollout is supported by global asset managers Blackstone and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Mega Campus: Plans feature a flagship 3GW data centre facility situated at the Raigad Penn Growth Centre near Mumbai.
Job Creation: Each localized campus project is expected to support thousands of domestic jobs across construction, specialized tech operations, and regional supply lines.
FAQ Section
Q1: What is a hyperscale data centre, and why is it needed for AI?
Hyperscale data centres are massive facilities designed to house thousands of networked computer servers operating at extreme scale. They are essential for artificial intelligence because training modern generative AI models requires massive amounts of raw computing power, specialized cooling, and continuous electrical energy that standard data facilities cannot provide.
Q2: Which cities will house AirTrunk's data centres in India?
Initial operations are focused on expanding existing pipelines in Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The upcoming larger phases will see extensive expansion into multiple states, starting with heavy structural allocations near Mumbai in Maharashtra and locations across Andhra Pradesh.
Q3: How does this investment connect to green and renewable energy goals?
Data centres consume massive volumes of electricity. AirTrunk and its partners are working directly with state utilities to anchor these facilities to dedicated renewable energy pipelines, aligning with India's broader climate mandates to supply industrial zones with clean solar and wind energy.
Source: Official Press Statements from AirTrunk, Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Communiqués, and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Investment Ledgers.
