Startup Originals Team
A joint venture between Reliance Industries, Brookfield and Digital Realty, Digital Connexion, has announced a massive investment of US $11 billion (≈ ₹98,000 crore) to build a 1-gigawatt AI-ready data-centre campus in Visakhapatnam (Vizag). Spread over 400 acres, this campus is expected to be developed by 2030 and marks one of the largest infrastructure pushes for AI and cloud computing in India.
What the Plan Involves:
- The project will create a 1 GW data-centre cluster designed specifically for high-performance AI workloads, cloud services, enterprise data needs and hyperscale computing.
- The data-centre campus will occupy 400 acres in Vizag, under a formal agreement (MoU) signed with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board.
- The facilities are being designed as AI-native and purpose-built: equipped with high-density rack infrastructure, redundant power supply, robust substations, advanced cooling, low-latency connectivity, and carrier-neutral network access for hyperscalers and enterprises.
Why This Matters: For India’s AI, Cloud & Digital Future
- As global demand for AI, cloud computing and data-intensive services surges, India needs high-capacity, sovereign data infrastructure, Digital Connexion’s project aims to deliver exactly that.
- The 1 GW capacity planned at Vizag is comparable to large-scale data infrastructure anywhere in the world, signaling India is competing at global scale.
- The project could transform Vizag into a leading AI/data-centre hub, joining other recent investments by global tech firms, effectively turning the city into a major node for cloud, AI, and digital infrastructure.
Digital Connexion: Who’s Behind It
Digital Connexion is a joint venture combining:
- Reliance Industries, one of India’s largest conglomerates
- Brookfield Corporation, a Canadian asset-management firm with global infrastructure investments
- Digital Realty, a US-based real-estate investment trust specialising in data-centre infrastructure
The JV has previously established data-centre campuses elsewhere in India and is now scaling up with this mega-campus in Andhra Pradesh.
What’s Next & What to Watch For:
- Development over the next 5–7 years to build out full 1 GW capacity by 2030.
- Meeting infrastructure requirements, power supply, cooling systems, network connectivity, redundancy, essential for stable, high-density AI workloads.
- Demand from global cloud providers, AI companies, enterprises, uptake will determine the success and utilisation rate of the campus.
- Broader ecosystem impact: growth of ancillary businesses (bandwidth providers, subsea cables, logistics, talent) in and around Vizag, making it a full-fledged tech and infrastructure hub.
Conclusion: A Strategic Bet on India’s AI Infrastructure Future
Digital Connexion’s ₹98,000-crore commitment to build a 1 GW AI-ready data-centre campus in Vizag marks a bold, strategic investment in India’s digital infrastructure backbone. As AI, cloud and data demand scales across sectors, from enterprise to startups to global cloud services, this project could position India, and Vizag in particular, as a serious global contender for high-performance computing, AI workloads and data-centre capacity.
