STT GDC India, UP Govt team up for AI city initiative

ST Telemedia Global Data Centers (STT GDC) India, a global player in the data centre industry, announced on Monday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Uttar Pradesh government to develop India's first artificial intelligence (AI) city in Lucknow. Headquartered in Singapore, STT GDC India is majority-owned by STT GDC, with Tata Communications Ltd holding a minority stake.

In October, the state government identified approximately 70 acres of land in Lucknow for the AI City, which aims to create a robust AI ecosystem that promotes innovation and broad access to digital infrastructure, ultimately benefiting the state's economic growth. Lalit Khanna, COO of STT GDC India, said that the company has committed ₹4,100 crore in investments and has operationalised its first data centre park in Noida, with further developments planned.

STT GDC India operates 28 data centres across 10 cities in India, boasting a total capacity of over 318 MW of IT load and serving around 1,000 enterprise customers, including many Fortune 500 companies. The current initiative aims to enhance the AI ecosystem by establishing advanced data centres and computing infrastructure for various sectors, startups, research institutions, and government.

The Uttar Pradesh government is also seeking private players to establish eight data centres in the state, with a projected investment of ₹30,000 crore, as concerns over offshore data storage grow. The projects, totalling 900 MW capacity, are expected to be located near Noida. Companies like Hiranandani Group, Adani Group, NTT Japan, and Web Werks have announced AI-led data centre projects worth ₹20,000 crore, with a combined capacity of 600 MW.

India is one of the largest data centre markets in Asia, with its capacity doubling from approximately 540 MW in 2019 to around 1,011 MW in 2023, according to Avendus Capital. The rapid growth driven by emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning, along with increased automation in Industry 4.0, is expected to triple this capacity to 3.29 GW by 2028, as reported by Cushman & Wakefield in September.