The sovereignty question
Adani framed the investment as a matter of national digital sovereignty, saying it would reserve a significant portion of GPU capacity for Indian AI startups and research institutions. Analysts were not convinced the structure supported the claim.
“I believe it is too distant from digital sovereignty if the majority of the projects are being built to serve leading MNC AI hyperscalers,” said Shah. “Equal investments have to happen for public AI infrastructure, and the data of billions of users — from commerce to content to health — must remain sovereign.”
Gogia framed the gap in operational terms. “Ownership alone does not define sovereignty,” he said. “The practical determinants are who controls privileged access during incidents, where critical workloads fail over when grids are stressed, and what regulatory oversight mechanisms are contractually enforceable.”
Those are questions Adani has not yet answered and the market, analysts say, will be watching for more than just construction progress.
But Banerjee said the market would not wait nine years to judge the announcement.
“In practice, I think the market will judge this on near-term proof points, grid capacity secured, power contracting in place, and anchor tenants signed, rather than the headline capex or long-dated targets,” he said.
