Dubai-based technology firm Solstice Data has signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a large scale AI driven data centre and high performance computing campus at the KINFRA Industrial Park in Mattannur, Kannur, the state administration said. The project involves an estimated investment of Rs 526 billion (bn), a conversion of the reported Rs 52,600 crore figure.

The memorandum was exchanged in Thiruvananthapuram between Raj Babu Thulaseedharan, India country head of Solstice Data, and Santhosh Koshy Thomas, managing director of Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation. The ceremony took place in the presence of minister P Rajeev and the director of industries P Vishnuraj, and officials described the event as a signal of government support for high technology investment.

Solstice Data, which has its headquarters in Dubai, designs, builds and operates advanced AI enabled high performance computing (HPC) data centres and manages more than 60 projects internationally, including in the United States and Canada. The company was said to focus on cloud scale computing, artificial intelligence processing and large scale data storage needs for enterprise and research customers.

The agreement allocates approximately 100 acres within the KINFRA Industrial Park at Mattannur for the campus. The industrial park spans roughly 175 acres and already has developed core infrastructure to support industrial activity, with around 123 acres available for industrial use. Officials indicated that several enterprises have already established operations at the park and that the new project will use remaining land allocations.

The company plans to implement the full investment in phases over a period of five to seven years and officials expect the facility to strengthen Kerala's digital ecosystem while attracting additional technology investment and innovation to the region. Authorities also noted that the project could support skilled employment and ancillary services linked to data centre operations and high performance computing.