NTT DATA's Massive AI and Infrastructure Investments Propel India's Digital Future

NTT CEO on China's AI shift, India expansion, and future of data centers

China's AI model DeepSeek has shifted the AI computing narrative from large training clusters to increased need for inferencing hardware, said Abhijit Dubey, global CEO of the Japanese data centre giant NTT DATA. "I think it (impact) is far more fundamental. It demonstrated that the unit cost economics are significantly lower from a training and inferencing standpoint. Number two, it demonstrated that open source is viable. And number three, that there's a lot more value in inferencing than just pure training." However, despite the Chinese disruption, NTT has not recalibrated capex plans for data centres and the industry is undergoing a boom cycle, he said. Globally, NTT has committed to invest 8 trillion Yen ($59 billion) between FY2023 to FY2027 in data centres and AI. Also Read: DeepSeek: A whale of a story of frugal innovation rattles tech world As a believer of Jevon's Paradox, Dubey explained that NTT will be a net beneficiary of more cost-effective AI models like DeepSeek because when "you drop the unit cost economics for an enterprise for inferencing, then they will adopt a lot more and the pie will be bigger." Over the past decade, NTT DATA has invested close to $3 billion to become the largest data centre company in India with 30% market share. Going forward, it plans to invest "roughly half-a-billion every year," Dubey said. Organic growth in cloud sans AI as well as fine-tuning and inferencing is tier 1 and tier 2 markets will continue to be NTT's focus from a data centre perspective. NTT, on Monday, announced the opening of a 500 MW data centre park in Navi Mumbai, its largest in India. The telecom licensee is also set to commission MIST - its first submarine cable system connecting Malaysia, India, Singapore and Thailand, entailing a total investment of $400 million. MIST is an 8,100-kilometer cable that can carry over 200 terabits per second and has landed at NTT's Mumbai and Chennai landing stations to further strengthen India's digital infrastructure. Also Read: DeepSeek signals Indian startups' deep AI dive About security risks associated with subsea cables, Dubey said that these can be weaponized to disrupt connectivity among nations. "But that doesn't mean that the world should not be deploying the capacity that is truly needed. And so, yes, there is a risk but that hasn't changed our risk adjusted investment profile in that business." When asked about Elon Musk's satcom company Starlink's foray in India, Dubey said, "We don't see that as a threat. But we are also investing as a group in space communications and space computing more specifically." NTT Group and Japan's satellite provider SKY Perfect JSAT have established a joint venture called Space Compass Corporation to develop a space computing solutions for enterprises. When it comes to IT services, unlike its large competitors which are focused on serving the North America and European market, NTT has laid focus on Indian corporate and public sector customers. India's IT spending is set to hit $160 billion in 2025. "India's macroeconomic potential continues to be the strongest in the world which means that both the public and private sector will be attractive from an IT or technology standpoint. Secondly they don't have legacies so they can leapfrog to all the new stuff much faster than developed world companies," he said. Also Read: China's AI wave turns into tsunami

NTT DATA Powers India's Digital Leap with Multi-Billion AI & Infrastructure Investments

It marks a milestone as NTT DATA's first cable system to establish direct connectivity to and from India, enhancing global connectivity and adding critical infrastructure for the country's rapidly growing digital economy. MIST was connected to NTT DATA's Mumbai landing station in February 2023 and its Chennai landing station in May 2023. NTT has been growing and investing in India for over a decade. Adding to that, NTT DATA has now opened its biggest data center campus in India, a facility that can hold over 500 MW of power, when fully operational. The company operates almost two-thirds of its data centers in India on renewable energy. It is committed to using 100% renewable energy by 2030 in all its data centers and operations. Featuring advanced infrastructure, including an underground tunnel for seamless connectivity and cooling technologies, the campus highlights safety, innovation and sustainability.

NTT DATA Accelerates India's Digital Future with Multi Billion AI and Infrastructure Investments

Expansion of AI innovation center and deployment of Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) to fast-track India's technological leadership MIST submarine cable system to directly connect India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand Launch of NTT DATA's largest data center campus in India to power digital transformation NTT DATA, a global digital business and technology services leader, today announced a series of strategic initiatives reinforcing its continued commitment to the Indian market. Among these, the company announced the commissioning of its Malaysia, India, Singapore Transit (MIST) submarine cable system by June 2025. MIST is an 8,100-kilometer cable that can carry over 200 terabits per second (Tbps). It is one of the largest cables in Asia, and will connect Malaysia, India, Singapore and Thailand. It marks a milestone as NTT DATA's first cable system to establish direct connectivity to and from India, enhancing global connectivity and adding critical infrastructure for the country's rapidly growing digital economy. MIST was connected to NTT DATA's Mumbai landing station in February 2023 and its Chennai landing station in May 2023. NTT has been growing and investing in India for over a decade. Adding to that, NTT DATA has now opened its biggest data center campus in India, a facility that can hold over 500 MW of power, when fully operational. The company operates almost two-thirds of its data centers in India on renewable energy. It is committed to using 100% renewable energy by 2030 in all its data centers and operations. Featuring advanced infrastructure, including an underground tunnel for seamless connectivity and cooling technologies, the campus highlights safety, innovation and sustainability. As the third-largest data center provider globally, and the largest in India, NTT DATA is scaling its global capacity from over 1,500 MW to exceed 2,000 MW. With significant growth in India, where it holds leading market share, it aims to add 400 MW more in the coming years. NTT DATA is the only data center service provider with over 200 MW of AI load already deployed worldwide. While the world is talking about being AI-ready, NTT DATA is AI-experienced. NTT DATA also announced that it is upgrading and expanding its Innovation Centre in Bengaluru, India. The center will focus on AI, digital twin and quantum computing projects. With this, the company has 11 global innovation centers across 11 countries that will boost hiring of specialized talent to manage projects for global companies, driving AI-led technology solutions, particularly with agentic AI. Dedicated to boosting connectivity, NTT's Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN), a next-generation All-Photonics Network (APN) technology has been used to interconnect data centers in the Mumbai region, facilitating higher performance data transmission at lower costs. IOWN's first information and communication processing infrastructure in India is in its early implementation stages. It aims to provide fast, high-capacity network access using photonics-based technologies. NTT is working hard to make this technology available to organizations globally by 2030, with an aim to support the growing AI driven global data volume which is likely to reach a capacity of 175 zettabytes by 2025 - nearly triple from 2020 to 2025, as per IDC's 'Data Age 2025' paper. It elaborates - if we were to store 175 zettabytes on DVDs, the stack of DVDs would be long enough to circle Earth 222 times. "India is key in our global strategy, fuelled by its rapid economic and digital expansion. We're proud to say that NTT DATA has powered the IT infrastructure in India and globally, notably in data center capacity. Currently, India is one of our top 10 revenue-generating markets," said Akira Shimada, President and CEO, NTT. "We are investing 8 trillion Yen (US$59 billion*) globally over 5 years from FY2023 to FY2027 into growth areas, including data centers and AI. We are committed to delivering our integrated full-stack proposition to our clients across Data Centers, Network, Applications, BPaaS, Managed Services, Cloud, Security, and AI solutions." "We are proud to accelerate India's digital future with the commissioning of MIST -- the latest milestone in strengthening global digital highways that connect new markets and power AI innovation. Our MIST cable landing at the Gateway of India, Mumbai truly serves as India's gateway to the world," said Abhijit Dubey, CEO, NTT DATA, Inc. "Our USD 3 billion investment in India's digital infrastructure over the last decade reflects our confidence in the region's exceptional talent and robust tech ecosystem. We remain committed to expanding our presence and strategic investments in the country that will elevate India to one of our top five markets within the next three years." "The Indian economy is currently in a growth phase both as a top market and a hub of innovation, talent and opportunity," said Avinash Joshi, CEO, India, NTT DATA. "Over the years we have grown through acquisitions and currently have 3000 clients in India. We will continue to build on this momentum to drive transformation across key industries such as banking, manufacturing and automotive. We are witnessing an era of evolutionary tech and are confident in our ability to robustly meet the demand in the areas of technology solutions, data centers, infrastructure management, and applications." *At the exchange rate of 1 USD = 135.2 JPY as of May 10, 2023, according to NTT's financial announcement date. About NTT DATA NTT DATA is a $30+ billion trusted global innovator of business and technology services. We serve 75% of the Fortune Global 100 and are committed to helping clients innovate, optimize and transform for long-term success. As a Global Top Employer, we have diverse experts in more than 50 countries and a robust partner ecosystem of established and start-up companies. Our services include business and technology consulting, data and artificial intelligence, industry solutions, as well as the development, implementation and management of applications, infrastructure and connectivity. We are also one of the leading providers of digital and AI infrastructure in the world. NTT DATA is part of NTT Group, which invests over $3.6 billion each year in R&D to help organizations and society move confidently and sustainably into the digital future. Visit us at nttdata.com