Equinix, Inc., the world’s leading digital infrastructure company, has officially opened its first International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in Chennai, India, named CN1. Strategically located on nearly six acres of land in Siruseri, Tamil Nadu, CN1 directly interconnects with Equinix’s Mumbai campus, which already houses three IBX facilities. This expansion reflects India’s rapid digital growth, driven by rising cloud adoption, AI innovation, and strong data sovereignty policies.
By establishing CN1 in Chennai, Equinix strengthens India’s position as a digital hub in Asia-Pacific. As enterprises increasingly scale digital services, the demand for reliable infrastructure and reduced latency has surged. Chennai, with its proximity to key submarine cable landing sites, is emerging as a focal point for technological advancement, research, and AI-driven growth.
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With an initial investment of US$69 million, CN1 delivers 800 cabinets in its first phase and is designed to expand to 4,250 cabinets. True to Equinix’s global standards, the facility guarantees 99.999% uptime and provides a comprehensive suite of interconnection services, including Equinix Fabric, enabling businesses to harness the full power of hybrid multicloud. Moreover, CN1 incorporates liquid cooling capabilities, making it AI-ready and capable of handling compute-intensive workloads essential for modern technologies.
Currently, Equinix collaborates with more than 300 companies in India, ranging from network providers to internet exchanges. Its Mumbai campus already hosts a rich ecosystem, including direct on-ramps to leading cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud. With CN1, Chennai-based enterprises gain seamless access to this ecosystem, benefiting from low-latency, secure connectivity to customers and partners worldwide.
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Highlighting the significance of this milestone, Manoj Paul, Managing Director, India, Equinix, stated:
“We are delighted to announce the launch of our high-performance IBX data center, CN1, in Chennai, marking Equinix’s expansion in India and a pivotal step in advancing the nation’s digitalization journey. Our success in building the most interconnected ecosystem for cloud, carrier, content and enterprises in Mumbai will now be extended to customers in Tamil Nadu. This milestone highlights our commitment to empowering India’s position as a global technology hub while ensuring sustainability and innovation remain at the core of our operations. With CN1’s cutting-edge capabilities, we look forward to enabling businesses in Chennai and across India to build future-ready, scalable digital infrastructure that supports sustainability to expand their business in Tamil Nadu and globally.”
On a global scale, Equinix operates more than 270 data centers across 77 markets in 36 countries, serving over 10,000 customers. In the Asia-Pacific region alone, it manages over 60 facilities across strategic metros in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. Importantly, Equinix continues to prioritize sustainability, achieving 96% renewables coverage across its worldwide operations, including India, in 2024.
With CN1, Equinix not only expands its footprint in India but also reinforces the country’s ability to lead in digital transformation, AI development, and global connectivity.
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