Key Points
- Nava raises $22 million Series A led by Greenoaks with RTP Global and Unicorn India Ventures
- Three Indian founders from OYO, McKinsey and Jio lead the cloud infrastructure startup
- Company establishes Singapore headquarters to serve Asia-Pacific AI compute demand
Nava, a cloud infrastructure company founded by three Indian technology executives, has raised $22 million (approximately ₹190 crore) in Series A funding to build data centres and computing facilities for artificial intelligence applications across Asia-Pacific.
The funding round was led by Greenoaks, a global investment firm, with participation from RTP Global and Unicorn India Ventures. The company, previously known as Kluisz, announced its rebrand to Nava alongside the fundraise.
The investment signals growing investor interest in AI infrastructure as enterprises across Asia struggle to access computing power needed to run AI applications. For Indian companies building AI products, access to high-performance computing facilities closer to home could reduce costs and improve application speed.
Nava was founded by Abhinav Sinha, former Global Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer at OYO; Vamshidhar Reddy, former Partner at McKinsey and previously at chipmaker AMD; and Abhijeet Singh, former Vice President of Cloud at Reliance Jio and previously at AT&T.
What Nava is building
The company is constructing what it calls a full-stack AI compute platform. In practical terms, this means Nava will own and operate the entire chain of infrastructure needed to run AI applications: physical data centres optimised for AI workloads, graphics processing units (GPUs) which are specialised chips that perform the mathematical calculations AI systems require, software that manages how computing tasks are distributed across machines (orchestration), and tools that help AI models generate responses quickly (inferencing).
This vertical integration, where one company controls multiple layers of the technology stack rather than relying on third-party providers, is intended to give enterprise customers more control over performance and costs.
The funding will be used to build out this platform, expand operations across Asia-Pacific, and hire senior leaders in data centre design, GPU engineering, sales and operations, the company said.
As part of its expansion, Nava is establishing Singapore as its regional headquarters. The move positions the company closer to Southeast Asian markets and provides access to international talent, the company stated.
The infrastructure gap Nava aims to address is substantial. Data centre capacity across Southeast Asia will need to triple by 2030 to meet rising AI compute demand, according to KPMG estimates. India faces a comparable shortfall, though specific figures were not provided.
“This fundraise marks an important step in our journey. What started as an AI-native cloud platform has now evolved into something much larger, where we are building the foundational cloud platform layer for AI in Asia. We’re grateful to our investors for their continued support and conviction as we build in a category that is growing and rapidly evolving,” said Abhinav Sinha, co-founder and CEO, Nava.
Your Questions, Answered
What is Nava and what does it do?
Nava is a cloud infrastructure company building data centres and GPU computing facilities specifically designed for AI applications across Asia-Pacific. It was previously called Kluisz.
Who founded Nava?
Nava was founded by Abhinav Sinha (former OYO COO and CPO), Vamshidhar Reddy (former McKinsey Partner) and Abhijeet Singh (former Jio VP of Cloud).
How much funding has Nava raised?
Nava raised $22 million (approximately ₹190 crore) in Series A funding led by Greenoaks, with participation from RTP Global and Unicorn India Ventures.
Why is AI cloud infrastructure important for Indian enterprises?
Indian companies building AI products need access to high-performance computing facilities. Local or regional infrastructure can reduce costs, improve application speed and give enterprises more control over their AI workloads.
