India's Data Centers: Scaling for a Billion People

With over 700 million internet users and growing, India's data center business is poised for immense growth not seen since the IT revolution. How can you benefit as an investor in this theme?

Introduction

India's data center industry is rapidly evolving, driven by digital transformation, the proliferation of internet users, and the government's push towards a digital economy. With the rise of cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and data localization regulations, the demand for robust data center infrastructure has never been higher. This research report provides an in-depth analysis of the current state, growth drivers, the best data center companies to invest in and future prospects of India's data center industry.

India’s data center industry is poised to grow to $40 billion by 2028.

Market Overview

Current State

As of early 2024, India is home to over 130 operational data centers spread across key cities like Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune. The industry is witnessing significant investments from both domestic and international players, including major tech giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, alongside local listed firms in the associated space which I have discussed below in detail. These companies have a spectacular chance of growth due to the multitude of opportunities, and the patient investor that gets into them will be rewarded handsomely in the short to medium term.

The foreign investment into the data center sector has been around $14.8B since pre-COVID times, and is expected to hit $40B by 2027-28. This is a spectacular 15% CAGR over a decade!