“With this certification, our data centres in Mumbai-Rabale, Noida and Chennai-Siruserri are ready to support 7-8 GPU (graphics processing units) servers per rack which is approximately 130 kilowatt capacity per rack. This could cater to hyperscalers or any enterprise needs for AI computation in the country,” Sharad Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer of Sify Infinit Spaces Limited told ET.
He explained that GPU computation requires large power and cooling needs and therefore the right infrastructure is important for data centres to become AI-ready.
Liquid cooling techniques, where servers are immersed in a liquid coolant to dissipate heat is emerging as the standard for processing AI workloads globally. This reduces dependency on water and air cooling.
However, operational expenses are significantly higher for supporting GPUs compared to generic CPU servers, Agarwal said.
The latest development makes Sify eligible to participate in the IndiaAI Mission and bid competitively by finding the right consortium partners, the executive said.
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“AI mission has multiple layers. At this point of time Sify Infinit Spaces Limited is the only player who can create the infrastructure where anyone and everyone can come and host whatever kind of AI load they want to host. So that way we are qualified as part of AI Mission,” he said. Sify is one among the leading data centre operators with existing installed capacity of 190 MW in 12 centres across 6 cities Mumbai, Noida, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bangalore and two upcoming facilities in Noida and Chennai.
Sify aims to offer 350 MW in the next couple of years.
“We are in such a scenario of a heavy demand scenario and there are good projections around lot of activity likely to happen in India and India seems to be a sweet spot for not just endemic demand but lots of non-endemic demands,” Agarwal said.
In September last year, Kotak Data Center Fund (KDCF), managed by Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited (KotakAlt) made an investment of Rs 600 crore in Sify Infinit Spaces Limited (SISL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sify Technologies Limited to expand SISL’s data center capacity across India and invest in renewable energy. KotakAlt’s total equity commitment to SISL is Rs 1,600 crore.
