Neysa Secures $600 Million Funding to Propel AI Infrastructure
Neysa has successfully procured $600 million in equity financing, with intentions to obtain an additional $600 million in debt through a partnership with Blackstone. Notable equity contributors in this funding round include Teachers’ Venture Growth, TVS Capital, 360 ONE Assets, and Nexus Ventures.
The capital infusion is earmarked to expedite Neysa’s growth trajectory while facilitating the rollout of over 20,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) across India. This expansion comes in response to the surging demand for AI-driven solutions.
Founded in 2023 by Sharad Sanghi, who serves as the chief executive officer (CEO), Neysa specializes in designing and deploying AI infrastructure tailored for the Indian market. Its offerings comprise purpose-built, cost-effective GPU-based systems that empower enterprises and institutions to train, fine-tune, and implement AI workloads.
The company’s client base spans a myriad of sectors, including financial services, technology, healthcare, and public utilities.
“India’s aspirations in AI necessitate robust, production-grade infrastructure built at scale. Neysa is dedicated to facilitating the execution layer of sovereign computing, enabling AI research and its adoption in alignment with the goals of the India AI Mission,” stated Sanghi.
He emphasized the company’s commitment to providing performance certainty and data assurance, enabling enterprises, hyperscalers, and global AI research labs to deploy and scale dependable AI infrastructure in the region.
“Furthermore, we are set to enhance our capabilities pertaining to orchestration, observability, and security platforms. With Blackstone’s partnership, our ambitions extend beyond the Indian marketplace by leveraging their data centers in Asia (AirTrunk) and various global locations (QTS),” he elaborated in an interview with Mint.
Leveraging Tax Incentives and Global Expertise
In the wake of the budget announcement declaring a tax holiday, global cloud service providers are increasingly inclined toward establishing inference clusters in India. This strategic move is aimed not only at catering to the Indian market but also at addressing regional demand.
Recently, the Union government proposed that foreign firms delivering cloud services while utilizing Indian data center resources could qualify for a tax holiday lasting until 2047.
“This initiative has encouraged various hyperscalers to deepen their infrastructure footprint in India, and we aim to seize that opportunity,” Sanghi articulated.
India is rapidly advancing within the AI infrastructure and deployment domain. There resides significant potential in smaller, vertical-specific AI models.
The burgeoning agentic sphere likewise bodes well for India, thus inspiring infrastructure development as a direct consequence of deployment, Sanghi indicated, asserting that more companies are poised to innovate in India, both for domestic and international markets.
While specific performance metrics were not disclosed, Sanghi projected that Neysa’s revenues could triple next year, driven by escalating demand across diverse sectors.
Neysa plans to harness Blackstone’s extensive expertise in scaling critical infrastructure, particularly since the investment firm’s affiliates have significantly invested in foundational tools and technologies pivotal to AI’s evolution.
Their portfolio includes investments in QTS, AirTrunk, CoreWeave, and the Australia-based AI infrastructure platform Firmus.
“Digital infrastructure remains a paramount investment theme for us globally. This strategic investment positions Neysa to substantially enhance AI infrastructure in India, enabling businesses and public institutions to leverage AI technologies more effectively as adoption accelerates,” remarked Ganesh Mani, senior managing director at Blackstone Private Equity.
Pathway to a 30-Fold Expansion
Mani underscored that India stands at a transformative juncture, with the potential for growth exceeding thirtyfold from current levels.
“Consequently, we consistently seek to invest in artificial intelligence assets within India. Neysa will serve as our platform for integrating future investments in this sector, encompassing neoclouds and GPU deployment under Sharad’s stewardship,” he added.
Amit Dixit, head of Asia private equity at Blackstone, reiterated that the investment underscores the firm’s commitment to supporting the essential infrastructures underpinning AI ventures globally, with India recognized as a critical market.
Blackstone, recognized as the world’s largest alternative asset manager, oversees approximately $1.3 trillion in assets, encompassing a broad array of global investment strategies across real estate, private equity, credit, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, secondaries, and hedge funds.
DC Advisory acted as the principal financial advisor to Neysa, while KPMG provided advisory services to Blackstone.
Source link: Livemint.com.
