Mumbai, Jan 19 : Investment giant Blackstone has finalised a structured investment in AI cloud infrastructure startup Neysa, marking its formal entry into India’s AI-focused data centre operations. The deal, which will eventually give Blackstone a controlling stake, signals growing global investor confidence in India’s AI and digital infrastructure opportunity.
Blackstone will invest $50–75 million in the first tranche at a valuation of around $300 million, with milestone linked follow on funding paving the way for majority ownership. Post-closure, Neysa will be carved out as a dedicated data centre platform under Blackstone’s India strategy, with founder and CEO Sharad Sanghi continuing to lead the company. The startup had earlier attracted interest from SoftBank and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Meanwhile, India’s nano Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are increasingly splitting into two cohorts. Industry experts say long-term, well planned nano GCCs with 20–150 employees are reporting strong 12-month retention of 80–88%, while short-term, pilot-style centres face high attrition and delivery risks. The divide comes amid a sharp rise in demand for specialised AI and platform engineering talent, which is growing 40–50% annually, even as India faces a 20–25% talent shortfall in advanced AI, ML and data roles.
In parallel, wealthtech major Groww is expanding its footprint in wealth management, exploring portfolio management services and distributor-led mutual fund offerings aimed at high net worth and advice seeking investors. The move comes as Groww reported a 24.8% year-on-year rise in operating revenue for the December quarter, even as net profit declined.
Together, these developments underline how AI infrastructure investments, talent dynamics in GCCs, and evolving fintech strategies are reshaping India’s technology and digital economy landscape.