Lightstorm has secured a ₹2,500 crore debt facility from IndusInd Bank specifically to build AI-focused fibre infrastructure connecting major data centre clusters across India. According to Economic Times, Amajit Gupta, group CEO and MD, Lightstorm, emphasized that "this entire raise of ₹2,500 crore is going to fund what we think is the first large fundraise for AI cyber infrastructure across India." The debt facility will fund the next phase of the company's AI infrastructure expansion, positioning Lightstorm at the forefront of India's AI connectivity development. The 10-year debt facility will support connectivity between major hubs including Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad while linking them to hyperscale AI zones in Singapore and Malaysia.
Lightstorm will deploy the capital to construct network infrastructure across India's southern corridor and expand its I-2SEA subsea cable system to Southeast Asia, Japan, and the US. As reported by Mint, the company currently operates over 30,000 kilometres of terrestrial fibre and 21,000 kilometres of subsea fibre, linking more than 100 data centres globally. The company started domestic operations in 2020 with over 5,000 kilometres of fibre connecting seven data centres. The latest debt raise will specifically support creating a dedicated AI corridor connecting major data centre hubs such as Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad while linking them to hyperscale AI zones in Singapore and Malaysia. The company operates large-scale data centre campuses that provide power, cooling and connectivity needed for AI computing, enabling cloud providers and enterprises to deploy GPU clusters used to train and run AI models.
According to a CareEdge Ratings report dated March 19, Lightstorm's external debt-to-profit before interest, lease depreciation, and tax (PBILDT) ratio stood at 1.06x as of December-end 2025, compared to 2.46x as of March-end the same year. The company's total operating income increased 78% year-on-year to ₹589 crore in 9MFY26, with PBILDT margin improving to ~56.8% in the same period from 37.8% in FY25, aided by operating leverage. CareEdge anticipates operating profitability to remain healthy as network utilization improves, with Lightstorm targeting internal rates of return in the high teens for its expansion projects.
The debt raise comes as India's data centres, backed by massive global funding, are expanding beyond metros into smaller towns. Over the past 12 months, domestic conglomerates, Big Tech firms including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, and standalone operators have committed over $250 billion to build new data centre capacities across the country. Research by Square Yards found that while India currently generates nearly 20% of the world's digital data, it accounts for only 4% of global data centre capacity, indicating substantial headroom for infrastructure expansion. The country's data centre capacity could reach 7-8 gigawatts by 2035 if currently announced projects are fully realized.
The debt raise comes weeks after Lightstorm announced the I-2SEA subsea cable system connecting India with Singapore and Malaysia. The consortium includes Microsoft, Tata Communications, Telekom Malaysia, Singtel, NEC and JCPL, with Lightstorm and Microsoft serving as co-owners of the cable. According to Economic Times, Gupta clarified that there is no sell-down happening despite previous reports of a potential 20% stake sale at a $1.5 billion valuation. When asked about a public market debut, Gupta stated that an initial public offering is definitely one of the options, but we don't have any confirmed timeline as of now. The connectivity industry remains highly competitive with established players such as Tata Communications Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd already having significant terrestrial and undersea cable capacity.
