Adani bets big on AI data centres, to invest $100bn

MUMBAI: Adani Group will invest $100 billion to build renewable energy-powered AI-ready data centres by 2035 as the ports-to-power conglomerate seeks to cash in on India's attempt to pitch itself as the hub of AI infrastructure. The investment is expected to "catalyse" an additional $150 billion investment across server manufacturing, advanced electrical infrastructure and related sectors, potentially fueling a $250 billion AI infrastructure ecosystem in India over the decade, flagship Adani Enterprises said in a statement on Tuesday.

From Google to Amazon and Reliance Industries, deep-pocketed business giants from across the world have pledged several billion dollars of investments to set up data centres in India, fueled by rapid adoption of AI by enterprises, lower costs (of building data centres compared to other places) and data localisation norms mandated by the govt. The recent investment will build on AdaniConneX's existing 2GW national data centre which is expanding towards a 5GW target, helped by partnerships with tech majors Google and Microsoft, the company said.




In Oct last year, Adani Enterprises through its joint venture company AdaniConneX announced a partnership with Google, which is spending $15 billion to build India's largest AI data centre hub and energy infrastructure in Visakhapatnam.

With Microsoft, it is setting up campuses across Hyderabad and Pune, the statement indicated without sharing additional details.

The Adani Group is also in discussions with other major players looking to build large-scale data centre campuses across India, it said, adding that the company will also partner with Walmart's Flipkart to develop a second AI data centre to support Flipkart's AI workloads and next-generation digital commerce.

The announcement coincides with the inaugural AI Impact summit being hosted by New Delhi where top global tech leaders including Google's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei will be in attendance. "At Adani, we are building on our foundation in data centres and green energy to expand into the complete five-layer AI stack focused on India's technological sovereignty. India will not be a mere consumer in the AI age. We will be the creators, builders and the exporters of intelligence," said Gautam Adani, chairman, Adani Group.

Adani Enterprises said that it will also invest another $55 billion to expand its renewable energy portfolio, including one of world's largest battery energy storage systems.