Australian data-centre operator AirTrunk plans to develop a new facility in India to tap into soaring demand generated by artificial intelligence, CEO Robin Khuda has said.

With India’s 1.5 billion population and rapidly expanding digital economy, the company sees the country as a strategic growth market. AirTrunk, acquired by Blackstone in 2024 for A$24 billion, aims to strengthen its presence across Asia as investors continue to channel significant capital into AI-driven platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The company recently secured A$16 billion in refinancing to support projects in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

Khuda described the AI boom as a “global gold rush”, noting that the data-centre industry will require hundreds of billions of dollars globally to keep pace with accelerating demand. However, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman cautioned that the substantial energy requirements of large-scale data centres could pose a challenge to future growth.