According to a Bloomberg report, AirTrunk, the Australian data centre operator acquired by Blackstone Inc. last year in a A$24 billion (US$16 billion) deal, is preparing to develop its next hyperscale facility in India. Founder and Chief Executive Officer Robin Khuda said the move is driven by surging regional demand for AI and cloud infrastructure.
Global investors continue to channel billions into artificial intelligence platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and the hyperscale data centres required to support them. In August, AirTrunk completed a A$16 billion refinancing package to fund the expansion and operation of sites across Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.
Speaking at a Forbes event in Sydney, Khuda described the worldwide rush to build AI infrastructure as “the single-biggest gold rush in human history.” He noted that AirTrunk’s India plans are already well progressed, adding that the country’s 1.5 billion population, with a digitally active, youthful demographic, makes it a compelling market.
Khuda also highlighted that Asia’s rapidly growing digital economy offers ample demand for all major players in the sector. “It’s not a winner-takes-all market,” he said, emphasising that multiple operators can scale successfully.
The CEO has previously stated that the data centre industry requires hundreds of billions of dollars in capital to satisfy accelerating demand and support ongoing expansion. Blackstone’s acquisition of AirTrunk marked the firm’s largest-ever investment in the Asia-Pacific region and one of the biggest digital infrastructure transactions globally in 2024.
However, even Blackstone’s CEO Stephen Schwarzman has warned that the sheer amount of electricity needed for hyperscale facilities may become a limiting factor for future growth.
