Neysa Secures $1.2 Billion for Expansive AI Infrastructure Initiative
In a strategic move poised to capitalize on the exponential demand for data centers in India, Neysa, a burgeoning AI cloud services company, has successfully garnered $1.2 billion through a blend of debt and equity financing.
Sharad Sanghi, co-founder and CEO, anticipates that the startup’s revenue will surge at least threefold by the next fiscal year, buoyed by robust interest, ongoing negotiations for partnerships, and favorable policy shifts.
Notably, a newly announced tax incentive for global data center operators, set to last until 2047, is expected to catalyze investment inflows.
On February 16, Neysa disclosed the agreement to secure this capital, with Blackstone leading the round, alongside co-investors TVS Capital, 360 ONE Assets, and Nexus Ventures. The financial infusion is split evenly, with $600 million allocated to equity and the remainder earmarked for debt financing.
Sanghi elaborated on the growing demand across five significant domains: enterprises, startups, unicorns, as well as initiatives stemming from the government’s IndiaAI Mission and educational excellence centers.
He underscored the acute interest from major banks and global cloud providers, expressing intent to launch operations in India.
“We now have some of the largest banks in the country utilizing our services. With the government’s tax holiday for data centers, a multitude of global cloud providers and SaaS labs are strategizing their entry into India for inferencing purposes. We are poised to cater to this demand,” he stated in an interview with Moneycontrol.
Beyond targeting cloud service providers and SaaS companies, Neysa is actively engaging with prominent coding enterprises and US-based giants in the AI sector, including Perplexity, OpenAI, and Anthropic, as they expand their operational footprint in India.
While specifics about revenue figures remain undisclosed, Sanghi expressed confidence in exceeding a threefold revenue increase next fiscal, contingent on the successful closure of several sizeable deals currently in negotiation.
Expanding GPU Infrastructure and Market Reach
A significant portion of Neysa’s funding will be allocated towards enhancing its GPU cluster, escalating its count from 1,200 to an ambitious 20,000 units within the next 18 months. This expansion will encompass the development of AI compute infrastructure and network-based storage.
“In our estimation, India currently possesses between 50,000 and 60,000 GPUs. We project that this figure will balloon by thirtyfold in the ensuing two to three years to reach 2 million GPUs,” Sanghi remarked, emphasizing Neysa’s ambition to secure a substantial market share.
Although Neysa initially aimed to extend its services to global markets, the immediate surge in domestic demand has necessitated a reevaluation of those plans. Interest is also burgeoning in other Asian markets such as Malaysia.
With Blackstone acquiring a substantial stake, Neysa gains advantageous access to the PE firm’s AirTrunk data centers in various regions.
Sanghi envisions expanding into Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Japan, and subsequently exploring opportunities in selected European markets.
Neysa’s AI infrastructure portfolio encompasses an orchestration platform, GPU-as-a-service, and comprehensive cloud offerings.
Recently, its core product, the Velocis cloud platform, has integrated an array of new AI models, including OpenAI’s GPT-OSS series and other leading AI frameworks such as Llama, DeepSeek, Qwen, and Mistral.
This platform empowers clients to select and deploy models tailored to their specific use cases.
Historical Context of Neysa’s Funding
Founded in 2024, Neysa is the second entrepreneurial endeavor of Sanghi, previously chairman of NTT India’s global data centers and cloud infrastructure division. Co-founders include Anindya Das, the CTO, and BV Jagadeesh, the chairman.
In a prior round of funding, Neysa secured $50 million, co-led by existing investors NTTVC, Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India), and Nexus Venture Partners.
Last September, Neysa was officially recognized as a cloud service provider under the IndiaAI Mission, enabling the firm to offer GPU services.
The company is currently awaiting the outcomes of a new bidding phase scheduled for January 19 under the auspices of the IndiaAI Mission, having successfully implemented several projects associated with this initiative, with others in progress.
Source link: Moneycontrol.com.
