February 16, 2026. Mumbai. Neysa—a cloud company building GPU-first AI infrastructure in India—just announced Blackstone is leading a $1.2 billion funding round. Yes. $1.2 BILLION. That’s not a Series B or Series C. That’s a structural bet on India’s AI future. But here’s what actually matters: this is the largest funding round ever in India’s AI sector, and Neysa just became the second unicorn of 2026. Let’s break down why this is such a massive deal.
Why It Is Raising $1.2B—Main Reason
Here’s why Blackstone and co-investors are going all-in on Neysa:
• India Needs Sovereign AI Infrastructure—Right Now: Global AI labs are demanding local compute. Regulated industries (finance, healthcare) can’t send data overseas—it’s against the law. Neysa AI provides cost-effective cloud storage and GPU-based infrastructure, keeping compute local. That’s not a feature. That’s a legal requirement for every regulated business in India.
• The GPU Supply Crisis is Real: India has fewer than 60,000 GPUs deployed today. Blackstone estimates India will need 2+ million GPUs within years. That’s a 30X gap. Neysa is positioning itself as the bridge filling that void. Right now, they operate ~1,200 GPUs. They’re scaling to 20,000+. That’s the growth trajectory that attracts $1.2 billion.
• Demand is Exploding Faster Than Supply: CEO Sharad Sanghi told TechCrunch, “We’re going to more than triple capacity next year. Some conversations are advanced—we could see it in the next nine months.” That’s not forecast. That’s signed contracts waiting for infrastructure.
• Blackstone Sees “Picks and Shovels” Opportunity: Amit Dixit, Head of Asia Private Equity at Blackstone, said it directly: Blackstone invests in “essential picks and shovels of AI.” Neysa AI isn’t building AI models. They’re building the infrastructure everyone else needs to build. That’s the most defensible position in any tech cycle.
• This Is a Strategic Geopolitical Move: India’s government (IndiaAI Mission) is backing domestic compute infrastructure. Neysa gets favorable regulatory treatment, government contracts, and policy support. That’s a moat Neysa AI competitors can’t replicate.
Where Will Neysa Use This Fund
Neysa announced the $1.2 billion breaks down as:
• GPU Deployment and Data Center Infrastructure: 60% of capital goes directly to deploying 20,000+ GPUs across new data centers. They’re building massive compute clusters in locations like Hyderabad with associated networking, storage, and cooling infrastructure. This scales their cloud company footprint dramatically.
• Software Platform Development: A smaller portion funds Neysa’s orchestration, observability, and security tools. Think Kubernetes for AI workloads. Custom software that makes their cloud storage and GPU management better, faster, more secure than hyperscalers.
• Customer Support and Operations: Hand-holding matters. Neysa offers 15-minute response times and round-the-clock support—something AWS and Google don’t emphasize. This capital scales that advantage, locks in enterprise customers, and builds brand loyalty in the AI infrastructure space.
• International Expansion Preparation: While this round focuses on Indian deployment, Neysa AI is eyeing global expansion. Sanghi said they want “to expand beyond India over time.” This capital gives them runway to explore Singapore, Southeast Asia, and other regions.
The strategy is crystal clear: Neysa is becoming India’s answer to CoreWeave, Lambda Labs, and other neo-cloud providers. They’re building cloud storage and compute infrastructure purpose-built for AI workloads at a massive scale. When India’s AI ecosystem explodes (and it will), Neysa AI will be the infrastructure layer everything runs on.
That’s not just a business. That’s essential infrastructure. And Blackstone just bet $1.2 billion on it.
Source:- Neysa’s PR
Hi Friends, This is Swapnil, I am a content writer at startupsunion.com