Key Points
- Nikhil Kamath invests ₹200 crore in CtrlS Datacenters
- Sreeram Vanga contributes ₹50 crore to the data centre operator
- CtrlS operates 19 datacenters with 370 MW capacity across India
Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of stockbroking platform Zerodha, has invested ₹200 crore in CtrlS Datacenters, one of India’s largest data centre operators, the company announced on Tuesday. Entrepreneur Sreeram Reddy Vanga has separately invested ₹50 crore in the Hyderabad-based firm, bringing the combined fresh capital to ₹250 crore.
The investment comes as demand for data centre capacity in India accelerates, driven by the growth of artificial intelligence workloads, cloud computing adoption by enterprises and the expansion of digital public infrastructure. Data centres are large facilities that house computer servers and networking equipment, providing the physical foundation for cloud services, AI applications and digital platforms.
CtrlS, founded by Sridhar Pinnapureddy in 2007, operates 19 data centres across nine cities in India. The company has a current operational capacity of 370 megawatts, a measure of the power available to run computing equipment, with an additional 4.4 gigawatts of capacity in various stages of development according to company disclosures.
Investor rationale
Kamath said the investment reflected the critical role data centres play in supporting India’s technology ambitions. “Every meaningful technology shift of the next decade, AI, cloud and digital public infrastructure, runs on data centres. India is at an inflection point where the underlying infrastructure either keeps pace or becomes the bottleneck,” Kamath said in a statement. “CtrlS has spent years building the kind of depth that does not get assembled overnight. That is what made this an easy decision.”
Vanga, who has backed several technology ventures, cited his long association with the founder. “India’s AI and cloud ambitions will require world-class digital infrastructure at scale. I am excited to be part of CtrlS’s next phase of growth and the broader digital infrastructure opportunity in India,” Vanga said. “Having known Sridhar for many years, I have tremendous respect for his vision, perseverance and the institution he has built.”
Pinnapureddy said the capital would support expansion to meet growing demand from both large technology companies seeking hyperscale capacity, facilities designed to scale rapidly to thousands of servers, and enterprise customers migrating workloads to the cloud.
“Over the years, we have built CtrlS with a long-term vision of where India’s digital economy is headed and the digital infrastructure it will require,” Pinnapureddy said. “What excites me about this partnership is the alignment in that long-term vision. It gives us the ability to think bigger, move faster and continue building datacenter platforms that will support India’s next phase of growth.”
CtrlS Datacenters capacity expansion
The fresh capital will fund infrastructure expansion and capacity additions as the company positions itself to serve growing enterprise and hyperscaler demand, CtrlS said. Hyperscalers are large cloud computing providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud that require substantial data centre capacity in each market they serve.
By the numbers
- ₹200 crore
- Nikhil Kamath's investment in CtrlS
- ₹50 crore
- Sreeram Vanga's investment
- 370 MW
- CtrlS operational data centre capacity
India’s data centre sector has attracted significant investment in recent years as digitalisation accelerates across sectors. The country’s data centre capacity is projected to grow substantially over the next five years, driven by data localisation requirements, the expansion of digital payments and the deployment of AI applications by enterprises and government agencies.
CtrlS serves enterprise customers, cloud providers, financial institutions and government organisations. The company has emphasised sustainability in its operations, with renewable energy adoption forming part of its infrastructure strategy.
Kamath, who co-founded Zerodha with his brother Nithin Kamath in 2010, has emerged as an active investor in Indian technology and consumer businesses. Vanga has invested in multiple ventures across technology and infrastructure sectors.
Your Questions, Answered
How much has Nikhil Kamath invested in CtrlS Datacenters?
Nikhil Kamath has invested ₹200 crore in CtrlS Datacenters. Combined with Sreeram Vanga's ₹50 crore investment, the total fresh capital raised is ₹250 crore.
What does CtrlS Datacenters do?
CtrlS Datacenters operates data centre facilities across India. Founded in 2007, the company runs 19 data centres across nine cities with 370 megawatts of operational capacity, serving enterprises, cloud providers and government organisations.
What will CtrlS use the investment for?
The capital will fund infrastructure expansion and capacity additions to meet growing demand from enterprise customers and hyperscalers as AI, cloud computing and digital workloads accelerate in India.
Who is Sreeram Vanga?
Sreeram Reddy Vanga is an entrepreneur and investor who has backed ventures across technology and infrastructure sectors. He has invested ₹50 crore in CtrlS Datacenters.
