Sify Infinit Spaces Cautious on AI Boom as It Prepares to Become India’s First Listed Data Center Operator

Sify Infinit Spaces, soon to become India’s first publicly listed data center operator, is seeing strong demand driven by artificial intelligence but remains cautious about overheating the market. CEO Sharad Agarwal said the rapid rise of AI technologies has spurred unprecedented global growth in data centers, including in India, but warned that expansion must remain “responsible and calculated” to avoid pitfalls seen in past tech cycles. While he emphasized that AI itself is not a bubble, he noted the risk of herd-driven overbuilding that could lead to excess capacity.

The company, part of Sify Technologies—one of India’s earliest private internet service pioneers—is now looking to diversify its customer base beyond hyperscalers. In addition to major cloud providers such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, Sify Infinit plans to expand into banking, financial services, e-commerce, and media sectors. India’s data center capacity is projected to rise sharply from 1.3 GW in April 2025 to 4.7 GW by 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence, driven by rising cloud adoption and increasing AI workloads.

Backed by Kotak Private Equity, Sify Infinit currently operates 14 data centers and is developing 11 more, with projects having two- to three-year lead times that allow for adjustment if market sentiment shifts. The company filed for a ₹37 billion ($410 million) IPO in October. Agarwal said edge data centers—smaller local hubs—are also gaining importance as streaming and digital consumption grow in non-metro regions. Sify has begun constructing one such facility in Visakhapatnam, a city that has recently attracted significant investments from Reliance, Adani, and Google.

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