Blackstone-Backed Operator Plans to Invest $30 Billion in Indian Data Centers by 2030
Alina Collins
AirTrunk, the Blackstone-backed data center operator, plans to invest roughly $30 billion in India by 2030, betting on surging AI and cloud demand. The move positions India as one of the most capital-intensive new fronts in the Asia-Pacific data center race.
$30 billion into India — what is AirTrunk betting on?
AirTrunk plans to spend about $30 billion in India through 2030, making the country one of its most important long-term markets.
This means → AirTrunk now ranks India alongside Australia and Japan as a strategic priority, no longer just a "potential market."
The demand driver is twofold: India's rapid digitization and the spread of AI and cloud services are both pushing data center capacity needs sharply higher.
Why India, and why now?
AirTrunk CEO Robin Khuda cited three factors: top-down government AI initiatives, world-class talent, and abundant renewable energy.
In plain terms = policy direction, people, and green power — the three prerequisites for building data centers at scale.
AirTrunk already took a first step in April, acquiring Indian firm Lumina CloudInfra as its local launchpad.
What is AirTrunk, and who backs it?
AirTrunk currently operates data centers in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore, spanning key Asia-Pacific nodes.
In 2024, Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired the company for roughly $17.1 billion (A$24 billion).
This reflects a broader conviction among top alternative asset managers: in the AI era, compute infrastructure is the new real estate.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.