As artificial intelligence becomes central to innovation, computing power is emerging as a new form of capital. Beyond funding and talent, the availability of processing power now determines how quickly ideas can be tested and scaled. Despite being a global software hub, India holds less than 2% of the world’s AI compute capacity, highlighting a critical infrastructure gap.
In the latest episode of the Analytics Insight Podcast, host Priya Dialani speaks with Narendra Sen, Founder and CEO of RackBank. The two discuss reducing India’s dependence on foreign-owned data centers and cloud platforms.
Narendra points out that while Indian engineers help build global hyperscale clouds, nearly 90% of India’s compute infrastructure remains foreign-controlled. This, he argues, risks long-term control over data and intelligence.
RackBank addresses cost and scale challenges by building data centers in central India. In these locations, land and power are significantly cheaper, and latency remains balanced nationwide. The company follows a horizontal data center design, reducing deployment time from nearly two years to just six to eight months. This approach allows faster scaling to meet AI-driven demand.
Sustainability is central to RackBank’s strategy. The company uses patented liquid cooling technology that eliminates water usage and lowers energy consumption. With a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.2, RackBank’s facilities are more efficient than traditional data centers. Access to clean, affordable renewable energy further reduces costs and carbon emissions.
Narendra emphasizes the importance of indigenous chip development and AI inference capabilities, noting that inference workloads will soon dominate AI usage. RackBank aims to democratize access to computing for startups, researchers, and enterprises. He explains that it can be achieved through public-private collaboration, innovative financing, and the company’s AI SuperCloud, NeevCloud.
By combining affordability, sustainability, and sovereignty, RackBank presents a blueprint for India’s AI future. As computing becomes the backbone of economic growth, building intentional, India-owned infrastructure will be essential to creating a truly Atmanirbhar AI ecosystem.
Listen to the full conversation on the Analytics Insight Podcast to explore how computing is shaping India’s AI future according to Narendra Sen, Founder and CEO of RackBank.