Lightstorm secures ₹2,500-cr debt for AI fibre network

Mumbai: Network infrastructure provider Lightstorm has raised a ₹2,500 crore debt facility from IndusInd Bank to build "AI fibre highways" connecting AI data centre clusters across India. The 10-year fully underwritten debt facility will fund the next phase of the company's AI infrastructure expansion.

"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," Amajit Gupta, group CEO and MD, Lightstorm, told ET.

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. Gupta said the project would provide the connectivity backbone for AI data centres across India and Southeast Asia. The company plans to expand its domestic fibre capacity by 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.