TCS taps $1bn from PE fund TPG to build AI data centres

BENGALURU: TCS has set its data centre plan in motion. It has secured $1 billion (Rs 8,820 crore) from private equity giant TPG to power its AI data centre strategy in India. The funding aligns with its goal of emerging as the largest AI-led technology services firm. As part of this plan, TCS will work closely with hyperscalers and AI companies to design, deploy, and optimise AI infrastructure to enable robust delivery of AI services. HyperVault, the newly-created TCS entity focused on building gigawatt-scale AI data centres in India, will be funded through equity from TCS and TPG, along with debt. Together, both partners will commit up to Rs 18,000 crore over the next few years. The funding also supports TCS’ plan to develop over 1 gigawatt (GW) of AI-ready capacity in the coming years.

“We realised that entering the data centre business is key to deepening our partnerships and collaborations. More importantly, it broadens the end-to-end scope of what we offer. It opens a large set of opportunities for our customers and gives us adjacencies that pure data centre players don’t have,” TCS CEO K Krithivasan told TOI in an exclusive interaction. TPG is expected to hold 27.5-49%, while TCS will retain 51% in HyperVault. The partnership eases TCS’ capital outlay while boosting long-term returns in India’s fast-growing AI infrastructure market.Krithivasan earlier outlined a $6.5-billion blueprint for building out the company’s AI data-centre infrastructure, which will include sovereign cloud offerings with all data and compute hosted within India. TCS chairman N Chandrasekaran said, “With this capability, TCS is uniquely positioned to deliver complete AI solutions for its customers and partners. We are excited and committed to play a leading role in creating world-class AI infrastructure and solutions for the industry and work towards making TCS the largest AI-led technology services company.” India currently has about 1.5 GW of data-centre capacity, projected to exceed 10 GW by 2030. HyperVault will focus on high-density, liquid-cooled, energy-efficient AI data centres serving hyperscalers, AI companies, enterprises, and the public sector.TPG’s executive chairman Jim Coulter said data centres sit at the intersection of green energy infra, technology, and real estate. “We look forward to bringing TPG’s sectoral expertise across these asset classes and working with TCS to drive India’s next wave of digital infrastructure innovation in a climate-positive manner and build a more resilient future for the country’s digital and data economy.”