The Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, plans to invest US$10 billion to expand its data center operations in India.

The group has identified Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu as potential sites for two 1-gigawatt data centers.

Land acquisition is currently underway, and the company aims to scale its data center portfolio to 10 gigawatts over time.

This move follows last year’s announcement of a 500 billion rupee (US$5.9 billion) investment in Maharashtra.

Adani Enterprises, through its joint venture AdaniConnex Pvt. with EdgeConnex, manages facilities in Chennai and Hyderabad and is building new ones in Mumbai and Pune.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ India’s data center boom defies global slowdown amid power constraints

The contrast between India’s aggressive data center expansion and the global slowdown is striking but strategically timed.

While Microsoft is scaling back data center plans globally, India is still dramatically underserved with current facilities offering less than 1 GW capacity compared to much larger complexes in the US 1.

This supply-demand gap explains why Adani and Reliance are investing heavily despite global caution. JLL research projects 10 GW of new data center capacity breaking ground globally in 2025, with India positioned to capture a significant portion 2.

The race between India’s two richest men mirrors broader industry expectations of 15-20% compound annual growth in global data center markets through 2027, primarily driven by AI infrastructure demands 2.

However, both conglomerates face significant power supply and transmission bottlenecks that have constrained data center development timelines worldwide 3, making Adani’s energy management expertise particularly valuable in this expansion.

2️⃣ Tech giants increasingly dependent on Indian conglomerates as infrastructure kingmakers

Adani’s data center expansion represents more than just internal growth. It positions the group as an essential infrastructure partner for global tech companies entering India.

Microsoft has specifically partnered with AdaniConneX to navigate regulatory challenges for its data centers in Maharashtra and Telangana, leveraging Adani’s expertise in securing permits and developing infrastructure 4.