Microsoft and Lightstorm launch India‑Southeast Asia undersea cable project

A consortium that includes Microsoft, telecom startup Lightstorm, Tata Communications, Singapore Telecommunications, ASEAN Cableship and Japan's NEC Corp will build a new 3,600‑km submarine cable, called I‑2SEA, linking India with Malaysia and Singapore. The cable will have landing stations in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and is designed to support AI, cloud and hyperscale workloads, with service targeted for the fourth quarter of 2029.

The project is expected to raise the number of AI and cloud zones in India from 19 to 29 and to underpin a rapid expansion of data‑center capacity, which could double by 2027 and grow five‑fold by 2030. Lightstorm also plans to list in India by mid‑2027, seeking a valuation of up to $1.5 billion.