Bharti Airtel Pumps $1 Billion Into Nxtra To Expand AI Data Centres

Bharti Airtel has announced a capital infusion of approximately $1 billion into its data centre subsidiary, Nxtra Data. The funding round is led by global investors Alpha Wave Global, The Carlyle Group, and Anchorage Capital Group, with Airtel also participating.

As per regulatory filings, Alpha Wave Global will invest US$435 million, Carlyle will contribute US$240 million, and Anchorage Capital will invest US$35 million. Airtel will infuse the remaining capital while retaining a controlling stake in Nxtra.

Bharti Airtel shares, following this news, were trading at ₹1,798 at 11:39 am on 1 April 2026.

How The Investment Will Be Used?

The proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to scale Nxtra’s AI-ready data centre infrastructure across India. The company will use the investment to maximise its capacity from around 300 MW currently to around 1 GW in the coming years.

Nxtra aims to utilise this capital to accelerate expansion, enhance operational efficiency, and broaden its service offerings. These include co-location services, cloud infrastructure, managed hosting, disaster recovery, and edge computing solutions. The company is targeting enterprises, hyperscalers, and government organisations as key customer segments.

What Gives Nxtra A Competitive Edge?

Nxtra is one of the first data centre companies in India to deploy artificial intelligence at scale. It uses artificial intelligence for predictive maintenance, energy efficiency, and automated operations.

Currently, Nxtra operates 14 core data centres and over 120 edge facilities across the country. It is also expanding its presence with advanced AI-ready complexes in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Pune.

Apart from the above, Nxtra has partnered with Google to develop a gigawatt-scale AI data centre that will be backed by an investment worth $15 billion. This will further strengthen its long-term growth roadmap.

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Valuation and Market Outlook

After this investment, Nxtra is expected to be valued at $3.1 billion (approx), which will grow exponentially in the near future. India’s data centre market is witnessing rapid expansion, driven by increasing cloud adoption, enterprise digitisation, and the rise of AI platforms.

Moreover, the industry estimates suggest that the sector is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 21% for the next four years. Thus, reaching nearly 3,400 MW of IT capacity.

Sources

Financial Express

CNBC-TV18