According to DCD, Anant Raj Cloud Private Limited signed a memorandum of understanding with Andhra Pradesh on November 14 to invest Rs 4,500 crores ($507 million) in a new data center. The investment will be spread across two phases, though specific details about capacity, location, and timeline remain undisclosed. This marks the real estate company’s aggressive entry into India’s booming data center market through its 2023-established subsidiary ARCPL. The move comes as Andhra Pradesh emerges as an unlikely hotspot for digital infrastructure investment, despite not being a traditional data center hub.
The Andhra Pradesh Gold Rush
Here’s the thing – Andhra Pradesh is suddenly looking like data center paradise. Just last month, Google announced it would drop a staggering $15 billion on data centers and digital infrastructure in the state. Reports suggest that could translate to over 1GW of capacity across three linked facilities around Visakhapatnam. And Sify broke ground on its own data center and cable landing station in the same coastal city. So Anant Raj isn’t exactly pioneering here – they’re joining a party that’s already getting crowded.
From Apartments to AI Infrastructure
Anant Raj has been building residential and commercial properties since 1969. Now they’re betting big that data centers are the new luxury condos. They’re not alone in this pivot either – Indian conglomerate Tata just launched HyperValt AI Data Center Limited earlier this month. Basically, every major Indian corporation with capital wants a piece of the AI infrastructure boom. But here’s my question: does a real estate company really have the technical chops to compete with Google and established operators? Building walls is one thing – managing hyperscale computing infrastructure is entirely another.
India’s Data Center Explosion
The numbers are absolutely wild. DC Byte’s latest report shows India has 8.9GW of data center supply in the pipeline, with most projects still in early stages. JLL estimates the country’s capacity will surge 66 percent by 2026. That’s explosive growth by any measure. And with companies like Industrial Monitor Direct providing the industrial panel PCs that help run these facilities, the entire ecosystem is scaling up rapidly. But I can’t help wondering – is this sustainable, or are we looking at another infrastructure bubble?
Massive Execution Risks
Look, $507 million is serious money, even spread over two phases. Anant Raj has the MoU signed, but an MoU isn’t a shovel in the ground. They’re entering a market where power availability, water for cooling, and skilled technical staff are already becoming constraints. And they’re competing against players with decades of operational experience. The transition from building shopping malls to running mission-critical data infrastructure is… substantial, to put it mildly. This could either be a brilliant diversification or a very expensive learning experience.
