11-08-2025
MeitY plots data leap; BlueStone IPO opens
India's IT ministry has resumed discussions on a national data centre policy after five years. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter: ■ Awfis Q1 earnings report■ Axiom's India flight■ Washington cashes on chips
MeitY reboots data centre policy after five years
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has revived plans for a national data centre policy, first proposed in 2020, but never rolled out. Last week, officials met a select group of industry stakeholders in New Delhi, with feedback due this week.
Driving the news: The draft policy outlines faster single-window clearances, incentives for domestic hardware manufacturing, and four dedicated Data Centre Economic Zones (DCEZs). The aim is to spread capacity beyond Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi-NCR, which together account for 80% of India's current 1,263 MW.
Why now: A surge in AI adoption is driving demand for high-capacity, low-latency facilities. Colliers India estimates capacity will cross 4,500 MW by 2030, supported by $20–25 billion in new investment. Even with infrastructure status granted to facilities above 5 MW, building a data centre still needs over 30 separate approvals, slowing expansion.
MeitY is reviewing 10 state-level policies to simplify permissions and align incentives.
The big picture: India aims to establish itself as a global hub for AI and cloud services. Industry executives believe the DCEZ model, when combined with hyperscalers, cloud providers, R&D units, and edge facilities, could serve as a catalyst for scale and efficiency.
BlueStone IPO opens: Day 1 sees 39% subscription led by institutional buyers
Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, founder & CEO, Blues
Omnichannel jewellery retailer BlueStone's Rs 1,541 crore initial public offering (IPO) was subscribed 39% on the first day of the issue's launch, with institutional buyers leading the charge. The grey market premium (GMP) was Rs 9, signalling a modest 1.74% gain on the upper price band of Rs 517.
By investor class: Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), who typically bid late, swept up 57% of their allocation.
Retail investors picked up 38% of their allotment.
Non-institutional investors took 4% of the shares on offer. The issue closes on August 13.
Deal structure: Rs 820 crore in fresh issue
1.39 crore shares in an offer-for-sale from existing investors, including Accel, Saama, Kalaari, Iron Pillar, and Sunil Kant Munjal
At the top price band, BlueStone commands a valuation of Rs 7,823 crore.
Financials: Revenue surged to Rs 1,770 crore in FY25 from Rs 771 crore in FY23, a CAGR of about 52%. Losses widened to Rs 222 crore as the company poured money into store rollouts and marketing, though gross margins improved to 37.94%.
Also Read: IPO-bound BlueStone geared for unicorn tag
As ET had reported last week, BlueStone had trimmed the size of its fresh issue component from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 820 crore. The company, which had initially targeted a valuation of over Rs 10,000 crore, has adjusted to prevailing market sentiment and is now going public at a reduced valuation.
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Awfis profit rises threefold in Q1
Flexible workspace provider Awfis Space Solutions posted a sharp rise in quarterly earnings, with net profit for April-June tripling year-on-year.
Financials: Net profit: Rs 10 crore (Rs 3 crore last year).
Sequential change: down 11% from January-March (Rs 11 crore).
Total expenses: Rs 343 crore (up from Rs 265 crore a year earlier)
Operating Ebitda: Rs 127 crore, up 60% year-on-year.
Company's take: Chairman and managing director Amit Ramani attributed the margin lift to 'better occupancy, enhanced operating leverage, improved cost efficiencies, and disciplined execution across segments' during an analyst call on Monday.
Yes, and: Awfis now runs 220 co-working centres with more than 1.4 lakh seats spanning 7.1 million (71 lakh) sq ft across 18 cities. Its client base is spread across more than 3,200 active accounts. CEO Sumit Lakhani said around 18,000 seats had been signed and were said to be taken up in the second and third quarters.
Axiom Space deepens India partnership
Fresh off the Axiom-4 mission that flew Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS), US-based Axiom Space is doubling down on its India bet. CEO Tejpaul Bhatia told us the collaboration spans future human crewed missions, a possible Indian role in Axiom's private space station, and even joint work on advanced spacesuits.
What's next: By 2027, Axiom plans to bolt its first module onto the ISS, and then add one each year. The aim is to operate solo before the ISS is retired in 2031. The first phase will host eight astronauts.
Cost factor: Sending a pilot astronaut seat costs about $70 million; a mission specialist seat is $65 million. Bhatia states that India's increasing space influence makes it a natural partner in the emerging 'new space economy'.
Why it matters: India is positioning itself as the fourth space superpower, after moon and sun missions, rising satellite launches, and now an astronaut on the ISS. Bhatia described Axiom's relationship with India as 'powerful', 'valuable', and 'much larger than any one mission.'
Zoom out: Seats for its 2027 mission are selling three years in advance. Some future missions, Bhatia added, will have Indian connections, though details are still under wraps.
Nvidia, AMD to pay US 15% on AI chip sales to China
In an unusual and somewhat unprecedented arrangement, chipmaking giants Nvidia and AMD will hand over 15% of revenue from AI chip sales to China to the US government, according to multiple media reports.
Driving the news: The deal, struck in a White House meeting between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and President Donald Trump, clears the way for Commerce Department licences to sell toned-down AI chips to Chinese customers.
The big deal: Nvidia can now export its 'H20' chips, built to meet US export control limits.
AMD also gets the green light to sell its MI308 chips.
The US government could collect more than $2 billion via this arrangement, the New York Times reported.
Why it's unusual: Direct revenue-sharing from corporate exports is rare in US trade policy. It comes alongside tariffs of up to 100% on semiconductor imports, with exemptions for companies making substantial domestic investments. The move also represents a quick U-turn by the Trump administration, which had banned the exports of these chips to China in April.
Market context: Nvidia, now the first firm to hit a $4 trillion market cap, still counts China as a key AI market despite Washington's continued curbs on high-end chips. The move shows how market access has become a bargaining chip (no puns intended) in the geopolitical fight over AI supply chains.
Updated On Aug 11, 2025, 07:21 PM IST
