AirTrunk signs MoU for 1,800 MW of datacenter campuses in India — both still proposals
Blackstone-owned AirTrunk agreed with Andhra Pradesh to plan two campuses totalling 1,800 megawatts — but with no power, water, approvals, financing or timeline disclosed, nothing is built yet.
The News
AirTrunk has signed a memorandum of understanding with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu for two proposed datacenter campuses in Anakapalli district, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The agreement was signed on November 13: a 400-megawatt campus at Rambilli and a 1,400-megawatt campus at Tootipala, a combined 1,800 megawatts. AirTrunk projects more than 3,100 direct operational jobs and 4,700 indirect operational jobs if the campuses are built.
Both campuses remain proposals, and that needs saying plainly. No power or water arrangements have been disclosed, no approvals, no financing and no timelines. A memorandum of understanding is an agreement to explore a project together — it is not a contract to build anything, and either side can walk away. Until the power contracts, permits and funding appear, this is an intention, not a buildout.
The agreement follows AirTrunk's acquisition of Lumina CloudInfra in April 2026 and a proposal in June for more than $30 billion of Indian investment by 2030. AirTrunk is owned by Blackstone, the investment firm, which is why Blackstone's shares are the read-through ticker here; Blackstone closed Friday at $120.19, up 1.39%. This is a different company and different sites from the ReNew Andhra Pradesh project published on November 13, and should not be confused with it.
A 1,800-megawatt promise in India is a headline; the power contract is the story — and that part hasn't been written yet.
Why It Matters
Start with the scale. A large datacenter campus is often measured in hundreds of megawatts; 1,800 megawatts across two sites would put these campuses among the biggest proposals in India. The jobs figures — more than 3,100 direct and 4,700 indirect operational roles — are the kind of numbers state governments compete for, which is why the Chief Minister himself signed the agreement. For Andhra Pradesh, landing AirTrunk is a win even before a shovel hits the ground.
Then look at why India. The country is one of the fastest-growing datacenter markets in the world, with rising demand for cloud computing and AI, a government actively courting investment, and land and labour costs well below the United States. Blackstone-owned AirTrunk is one of several global operators racing to build there, and the $30 billion-plus figure from June shows the scale of the bet being placed on the country as a whole.
The honest read is that none of that makes this a done deal. Datacenter announcements in India have a long history of big numbers that shrink on contact with power grids, water supply and permits. The absence of any disclosed power arrangement is the most important gap: 1,800 megawatts is roughly the output of a large power station, and securing it is a project in itself. Watch for a power purchase agreement or a construction start — those are the milestones that turn an MoU into a datacenter.
Analyst's Take
Our call is Mixed. The ambition is real: 1,800 megawatts would be among the largest datacenter proposals in India, the jobs numbers are large, and the June proposal for more than $30 billion of Indian investment by 2030 shows this is part of a sustained push, not a one-off press release. AirTrunk has also been buying its way into the market — the Lumina CloudInfra acquisition in April shows it is putting money behind the words.
But a memorandum of understanding is the cheapest kind of announcement in the datacenter business. It costs nothing to sign, and the hard parts — securing 1,800 megawatts of power, water for cooling, land permits and tens of billions in funding — have not been disclosed at all. Plenty of datacenter MoUs never become datacenters. Until AirTrunk can point to a power agreement or a construction start, the right way to read this is as a statement of intent with a very long road ahead.
Reader poll: will AirTrunk's 1,800 megawatts get built? Vote: Yes, both campuses, One campus, Neither, or Too early to tell.
Are you bullish or bearish on this story?
By The Numbers
FAQ
What is an MoU?
A memorandum of understanding is a written agreement to explore a project together. It is not a contract to build anything — it records intent and a shared plan, and either side can walk away. The real tests come later: power, water, permits and money.
Where are the campuses?
Both are proposed for Anakapalli district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh: a 400-megawatt campus at Rambilli and a 1,400-megawatt campus at Tootipala. A megawatt is a measure of electrical power, and datacenter campuses are sized this way because the servers inside need enormous amounts of electricity.
Who owns AirTrunk?
AirTrunk is owned by Blackstone, the investment firm, which is why Blackstone's shares are the read-through ticker for this story. AirTrunk operates datacenters across Asia-Pacific and Japan.
How is this different from the ReNew project?
The ReNew project published on November 13 is a different company and different sites — a green datacentre in Andhra Pradesh backed by ReNew. This AirTrunk agreement involves different campuses in Anakapalli district, and the two should not be confused.
👁
Source: TradePoint.io (summarising Unite.AI)