Tata Communications CEO: Tata Communications to launch AI Studio platform in Q4, eyeing $500 billion US Stargate project opportunity

Tata Communications Ltd. will launch its AI Studio platform as a service in March, which will be built on the AI ​​cloud launched in partnership with Nvidia late last year, Tata Communications Ltd. CEO and Managing Director AS Lakshminarayanan said.

The platform will provide data management, multi-modal retrieval enhanced generation (search using text, photos, videos, etc.), machine learning operations capabilities on a subscription basis for hyperscalers (large cloud service providers), enterprises, startups and government entities Waiting for service.

“We are conducting early trials of AI Studio with some customers. We expect to launch it later this quarter,” Lakshminarayanan said in an interaction with Mint after the digital communications provider announced its third-quarter results on Wednesday. “We believe that the first people to invest will be many of the people building the investment models, which are mostly startups at the moment. “

He said there was a lot of potential for the government to “build the model and make it available to Indian citizens”. “Enterprises will learn how to use these models to effectively deploy their operations, and this is where people first experiment before going into production.”

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The executive added that the AI ​​cloud capacity will be launched in 2025 and will be expanded based on the needs of enterprises and their ability to deploy AI and develop business cases. US-based Nvidia and Tata Communications are using Hopper and Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs) to develop an artificial intelligence cloud in India. Designed to provide critical infrastructure. The partnership includes the provision of AI computing infrastructure and platforms for developing AI solutions that will be used by businesses such as Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS).

US business impact

Lakshminarayanan said the company is “waiting and watching” the impact of President Donald Trump’s series of executive orders on its U.S. business, including the acquisition of video production company The Switch and messaging and communications platform Kaleyra. Mint reported in October 2023 that Tata Communications aims to have a US business worth $1 billion by 2026.

“We very much hope that the (Trump) administration will be more business-friendly. By acquiring Switch and building production capabilities there, we have established a good infrastructure in the United States,” Lakshminarayanan said. “We already have landing sites and small data centers and provide services there. To some extent, none of these announcements will have a detrimental effect or be a reason to be overly optimistic.”

Lakshminarayanan said the proposed $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure project, called Stargate, will bring opportunities for the company’s edge computing capabilities; for example, building nodes on the infrastructure built for its media business.

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“One of the capabilities we’ve been working on in our AI cloud continuum is edge capabilities. That’s just something we’re rolling out in the media business; some of it is already in the U.S. where we can put inference capabilities relatively easily edge so we can participate,” he said. “We’re ready to add more capabilities in terms of physical infrastructure when the need arises.”

Asked whether America’s Stargate would have any impact on its continued investment in the AI ​​cloud infrastructure it is building in India in partnership with Nvidia, he said: “Ultimately, we believe every country will look at how to get some data on AI. Sovereignty. Artificial Intelligence. People just want to expose their data to markets outside their own country and allow others to profit from that data. We think India will have one no matter how much the United States invests in its own artificial intelligence. market.”

Monetization strategy

The company will introduce third-party investors Headquartered in North Carolina Subsidiary NetFoundry, this will result in majority stake dilution as the company continues to execute its strategy of reviewing subsidiaries that are dragging down profitability and monetizing non-core assets.

It divested its entire stake in subsidiary Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd. $330th November 2024. It is also seeking to sell the land to STT Datacenter $750-800 crore and has been approved by shareholders. Tata Communications owns 26% stake in STT Datacenter.

Third quarter results

Tata Communications reported $Profit for the quarter ended December 2024 was Rs 236.8 crore, up 424% year-on-year but slightly higher than the September quarter $227.3 Crores.

Lakshminarayanan attributed the year-on-year rise in profits to comparative differences due to one-time charges arising from the Supreme Court verdict in the December 2023 quarter, which resulted in a significant drop in profits during the quarter.

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Operating income is $5,798.07 for the quarter ended December, a year-on-year increase of 3.76% $Revenue reported in the same period last year was Rs 5,587.78 crore. September quarter revenue was $5,781.47 Crores.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) is $11.81 billion rupees, a year-on-year increase of 4.1% $1,134 crore in the same period last year.

Ebitda margin rose 23 basis points (bps) from the previous quarter to 20.4% from 20.1%. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point.