Bharti Airtel, Carlyle Group, Alpha Wave Global, and Anchorage Capital will inject $1 billion into the telecom provider's data centre division, Nxtra Data, as it grows its operations following a recent surge in AI-driven data center investments in India.

New York-based growth equity firm Alpha Wave Global, known for its support of AI-first companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, plans to invest $435 million in Nxtra, while US private equity giant Carlyle, already an investor in Nxtra, will contribute $240 million. Airtel announced in a statement on Monday, released after market hours, that Anchorage Capital will invest $35 million while Airtel's investment will be approximately $290 million.

Nxtra's valuation would reach approximately $3.1 billion after the transaction is completed. Airtel will maintain a majority ownership in Nxtra, the firm stated. The final ownership stakes of investors will depend on completed adjustments after closing.

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Currently, Airtel owns 75.96 percent of Nxtra, and Carlyle possesses the remaining share. Aritel will maintain a majority ownership in Nxtra after the cash transaction. In 2020, Airtel spun off its data center division into a distinct entity, after which Carlyle acquired a 24.4 percent share for $235 million, assessing Nxtra's worth at $1.2 billion then.

"Currently at approximately 300 MW capacity, we plan to expand to 1 GW in the coming years, aiming for around 25 percent of the market share," stated Gopal Vittal, executive vice chairman of Airtel.

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“Global investor and technology leader partnerships are vital to our growth plan, allowing us to speed up expansion, leverage top-notch expertise, and provide large-scale next-generation digital infrastructure solutions. With robust market demand, we are dedicated to increasing investments and bolstering India’s status as a premier data centre hub,” Gopal noted.

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Nxtra manages 14 large core data centers and over 120 edge facilities throughout India, providing co-location, cloud infrastructure, managed hosting, data backup, disaster recovery, and edge computing solutions. Nxtra is building AI-equipped campuses in Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata.