The data center race has begun in India, with global leaders like Adani and Reliance making big bets!

The data center industry in India is rapidly expanding. Global tech companies, billionaires, and even luxury real estate developers are investing heavily in the sector. While India’s total data center capacity currently stands at around 1.2 GW, a low global figure, real estate firm Collier estimates it will exceed 3 GW in the next five years. Several factors, including digitization, AI workloads, and data localization, are contributing significantly to this boom, making India one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the world.

Entry of Tech Giants Like OpenAI and Google

Many tech giants are currently eyeing India. Google discussed the possibility of a 1 GW data center with the Andhra Pradesh government this year. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently hinted at plans to set up a 1 gigawatt data hub in India, this shows that while data centers previously were limited to 10-25 megawatts, they are now being planned at the gigawatt level.

On the other hand, the country’s luxury real estate companies, such as Hiranandani Group, Anant Raj Developers, and Panchshil Realty, are now investing billions of rupees in building data centers instead of homes.

What are the reasons behind the boom?

According to data consultancy Enrock Capital, 60% of clients are enterprises, 30% are hyperscalers (such as AWS, Google Cloud), and 10% are AI users. As demand for AI workloads increases, this figure could rise to 20-25% for AI and 35% for hyperscalers.