Airtel Draws Global Investors for $1 Billion Nxtra Data Center Push

Investors led by Alpha Wave Global and Carlyle, alongside Anchorage Capital and Bharti Airtel Ltd, will invest $1 billion in Airtel’s data center unit Nxtra Data, as the telecom carrier expands capacity to meet rising demand for AI and cloud infrastructure in India.

The deal values Nxtra at about $3.1 billion after closing and adds to a broader rush by Indian groups to build data infrastructure as the country positions itself for faster growth in artificial intelligence.

Reliance and Adani have also announced investments in the sector in recent months as data centers emerge as one of India’s clearest entry points into the AI buildout.

Alpha Wave will invest $435 million, Carlyle $240 million and Anchorage Capital $35 million, with Airtel contributing the remaining $290 million, according to a statement from Bharti Airtel.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in India, and Airtel will continue to retain a controlling stake in Nxtra.

Nxtra plans to use the proceeds to expand its network across India, scale infrastructure and broaden services for enterprise, hyperscaler and government customers.

Airtel said the company currently has about 300 megawatts (MW) of capacity and aims to scale that to 1 gigawatt in the next few years, targeting about 25% market share.

“At Nxtra, we have built one of India’s most advanced and sustainable data center networks, designed to meet the evolving needs of enterprises, hyperscalers, and government. With ~300 MW capacity today, we aim to scale to 1 GW in the next few years, targeting ~25% market share,” Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice-Chairman of Airtel, said.

“Strategic partnerships with global investors and technology leaders are central to our growth roadmap, enabling us to accelerate expansion, harness world-class expertise, and deliver next-generation digital infrastructure solutions at scale. With strong market demand, we are committed to stepping up investments and strengthening India’s position as a leading data center hub,” he added.

India’s data center market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of about 21% between 2024 and 2030 to reach nearly 3,400 MW of IT capacity, Airtel said, citing Savills India.

Nxtra operates 14 core data centers and more than 120 edge facilities across the country.

“We have built a strong partnership with Airtel and continue to believe Nxtra is well-positioned to benefit from India’s long-term digital infrastructure tailwinds. The company has made significant progress in expanding its capabilities, strengthening customer relationships and building a scalable platform, and we look forward to further working with Airtel and Nxtra’s management team to build the company into one of the largest datacenter players in India,” Kapil Modi, partner at Carlyle India Advisors, said.

Rick Gerson, co-founder and CIO of Alpha Wave Global, said, “Alpha Wave has a particular focus on identifying and backing AI-first businesses including Anthropic, OpenAI, Cerebras, SpaceX, X.ai, Ramp, Cognition and Long Lake Management. We are excited to partner with Mr. Sunil Mittal and the Bharti Group … as Nxtra scales to become India’s leading data center business.”