Singapore has become the preferred venue for Asia's data centre champions
In the quiet hum of server rooms across eight nations, two of Asia's most ambitious data centre operators are preparing to cross a threshold that separates private ambition from public accountability. DayOne and AirTrunk, each backed by sovereign funds and institutional giants, are converging on Singapore as the stage for their market debuts — one eyeing a dual listing with Nasdaq, the other a REIT structure that parcels out assets to cautious hands. Their moves are less about raising money than about declaring that the physical infrastructure of artificial intelligence has arrived as a mature, investable civilisation.
- DayOne's Series C round nearly doubled overnight — from $2 billion to $4.5 billion — signalling that late-stage investors are racing to secure positions before a public listing closes the door on private-market pricing.
- AirTrunk's $30 billion India commitment, six times its original pledge, injects urgency into a regional expansion race where capacity secured today determines market dominance for the next decade.
- Singapore's new dual-listing regulations have quietly become a catalyst, giving both firms a credible, liquid venue that neither Hong Kong nor Sydney alone could offer for Asia-facing infrastructure plays.
- Neither company has confirmed its IPO plans, yet the capital stacks, the investor rosters, and the regulatory groundwork tell a story that official silence cannot fully contain.
- The broader tension is structural: data centres are no longer speculative bets but the load-bearing walls of the AI economy, and public markets are only now catching up to what private capital has known for years.
Two of Asia's largest data centre operators moved closer to public markets last week, each announcing funding or expansion commitments that read less like growth capital and more like final preparations for a listing. DayOne, spun from China's GDS International in 2022, closed a $4.5 billion Series C — nearly double the $2 billion figure announced just months earlier in January. AirTrunk, the Sydney-based rival backed by Blackstone and Canada's pension fund, pledged $30 billion to India expansion by 2030, a sixfold increase from its original commitment. Both companies are eyeing Singapore as their listing destination, a choice that says as much about the city-state's evolving regulatory architecture as it does about where Asian infrastructure capital is flowing.
DayOne's round drew new backers including Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund and Achi Capital Partners, but the more telling detail is who already owns the company. Coatue and Hillhouse are now its largest shareholders, SoftBank's Vision Fund remains invested, and total capital raised since inception has reached nearly $6.5 billion. The funds are earmarked for eight markets spanning Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe, and Hong Kong, where DayOne has already secured more than 1.5 gigawatts of committed capacity. Speculation points toward a simultaneous SGX-Nasdaq listing, a structure enabled by Singapore's new dual-float rules and modelled on the path already walked by its parent, GDS International.
AirTrunk's ambitions are no less striking. The company acquired Indian operator Lumina CloudInfra in April to establish local roots, then announced it would double planned capacity to 1.2 gigawatts across the subcontinent. Its backers — Blackstone and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages over $500 billion — are institutions built for decade-long horizons, not quick exits. The Singapore listing being explored would take the form of a REIT, allowing investors to own discrete assets rather than the whole business, a more measured structure that still delivers the liquidity both sides are seeking.
The timing reflects something larger than corporate strategy. Data centres have become the unglamorous but indispensable foundation of the AI economy — the buildings where the chips powering large language models actually run, are cooled, and are kept alive. As Nvidia designs the hardware and hyperscalers write the software, companies like DayOne and AirTrunk are quietly becoming the landlords of the intelligence age. Their bet is that Asian investors, particularly those in Singapore with access to regional capital flows, will pay premium valuations for that role. The deals announced last week suggest the market is inclined to agree.
Two of Asia's largest data centre operators are making their boldest moves yet toward public markets, each announcing funding rounds so substantial they read less like venture capital injections and more like final preparations for an IPO. DayOne, the international arm spun from China's GDS International, closed a $4.5 billion Series C round on Friday—a figure that nearly doubled from the $2 billion initially announced in January. AirTrunk, the Sydney-based rival backed by Blackstone and Canada's pension fund, committed $30 billion to expansion in India alone by 2030. Both companies are eyeing Singapore as their listing destination, a choice that reflects not just the city-state's appeal as a financial hub, but a broader reshaping of how Asia's infrastructure plays are financed.
DayOne's funding round tells the story of a company preparing for the exit. The additional $2.5 billion came from new backers including Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund and Achi Capital Partners, a China-focused late-stage tech investor. But the real signal lies in who already owns the company. Coatue and Hillhouse are now the largest shareholders following this round, SoftBank's Vision Fund remains a backer, and the company has accumulated nearly $6.5 billion in total investor capital since its 2022 spinoff from GDS International. That pedigree—those names, that capital base—suggests the company is ready to cash in on the AI infrastructure boom. The money itself is earmarked for expansion across eight key markets: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Finland, and Spain. Since its launch, DayOne has secured more than 1.5 gigawatts of total bookings, a measure of committed capacity that underscores real demand, not just investor enthusiasm.
What makes DayOne's path particularly notable is the regulatory innovation behind it. Speculation suggests the company is exploring a simultaneous listing on both the Singapore Exchange and the Nasdaq—a structure made possible by new rules that allow dual floats. Its parent company, GDS International, is already listed in Hong Kong and on the Nasdaq, so DayOne would be following a proven playbook, just with a Singapore component that reflects where the growth is happening.
AirTrunk's announcement, while framed differently, sends a similar message about confidence in the region. The company already operates across Southeast Asia, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Middle East. Its $30 billion India commitment represents a sixfold increase from its original $5 billion pledge and a doubling of its planned capacity from 600 megawatts. The company acquired Lumina CloudInfra, a domestic Indian data centre operator, in April, giving it local roots before this massive expansion. Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which holds over $500 billion in assets under management, are the primary backers after acquiring AirTrunk in a 2024 deal valued at $17 billion. These are not speculative investors; they are institutions with decades-long time horizons.
AirTrunk's Singapore plans differ from DayOne's in structure but not in intent. Reports suggest the company is exploring a real estate investment trust IPO that could raise $1.5 billion. A REIT would allow investors to own selective assets rather than the full business, a more conservative approach that still provides the liquidity the company seeks. Neither firm has confirmed its listing plans officially, but the pattern is unmistakable: Singapore has become the preferred venue for Asia's data centre champions to tap public capital.
The timing matters. Data centres have become unglamorous infrastructure with enormous economic weight. They are the physical foundation of the AI boom—the buildings where the chips that power large language models and neural networks actually live. Companies like Nvidia are designing chips, but someone has to build the facilities to run them, cool them, and power them. That someone, increasingly, is DayOne and AirTrunk. Both companies are betting that Asian investors, particularly those in Singapore with access to regional capital, will pay premium valuations for exposure to this essential, high-margin business. The deals announced last week suggest they are probably right.
Citas Notables
DayOne has accumulated nearly $6.5 billion in total investor capital to date, with Coatue and Hillhouse now its largest shareholders following the latest round— Company announcement
AirTrunk's $30 billion commitment represents a sixfold increase from its original $5 billion India pledge and a doubling of planned capacity— Company announcement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter that both companies are looking at Singapore specifically? Couldn't they list anywhere?
Singapore has become the regional financial hub for infrastructure plays. It's where the capital is, where the regulators understand data centres, and where you can access both Asian and Western investors in one market. Plus, the new dual-listing rules mean you're not choosing between Singapore and the US—you can do both at once.
So these aren't just funding rounds. These are war chests before going public.
Exactly. When you raise $4.5 billion in a Series C, you're not raising venture capital anymore. You're raising the money you need to be a public company—to expand, to have a balance sheet that impresses institutional investors, to show you can execute at scale.
What's the actual business here? Why is data centre capacity so valuable right now?
Every AI model needs to run somewhere. Every company training large language models, every cloud provider serving customers—they all need physical infrastructure. DayOne and AirTrunk own the buildings and the power. They're not selling compute; they're selling the real estate that compute lives in. And right now, that real estate is in short supply.
Is there risk here? What could go wrong?
Demand could soften if the AI boom cools. Interest rates could rise and make debt more expensive. But both companies have institutional backers with long time horizons, not traders. They're betting on sustained, structural demand for data centre capacity across Asia for the next decade.
Why India specifically for AirTrunk? Why commit $30 billion there?
India is where the next billion internet users are coming from. It's where cloud adoption is accelerating fastest. And it's where Western companies are diversifying away from China. AirTrunk is positioning itself as the infrastructure backbone for that shift.
So Singapore gets the listings, but the actual growth is happening in India, Southeast Asia, Japan?
Right. Singapore is the financial capital; it's where you raise the money and list the shares. But the actual business—the data centres, the power, the cooling systems—that's being built across the entire region.