From startup to the biggest global data centre deal in under a decade, AirTrunk marks 10 years of hyperscale growth with the launch of new social impact partnerships
Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) hyperscale data centre specialist, AirTrunk has marked its first 10 years with a celebration of its top ten moments, a look to the future and the official launch of its social impact program.
The company held an event featuring speakers including Chair Mark Barnaba AM CitWA, Founder and CEO, Robin Khuda and social impact partner A/Prof Corey Tutt OAM, founder of DeadlyScience. The event celebrated a decade of transformation, from 2015 when Robin Khuda set a bold vision to build the leading hyperscale data centre platform in APJ and culminating in Blackstone and CPPIB’s 2024 acquisition in a A$24 billion deal that was the largest global data centre transaction on record.
AirTrunk Founder and CEO, Robin Khuda said: “In 2015, I founded AirTrunk to meet an unmet need in Asia Pacific & Japan – a data centre platform for the cloud. Over the last 10 years, AirTrunk pioneered hyperscale data centres in the region, extending our platform from Australia to Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. As we look to the future, we’re focused on scaling to meet our customers’ needs as well as amplifying our positive impact, driving the energy transition and achieving net zero by 2030.”
AirTrunk’s Social Impact Program Official Launch
In addition to celebrating 10 years of providing essential digital infrastructure for leading global tech companies, AirTrunk officially launched its region-wide social impact program to deliver lasting social and environmental impact in APJ. The program, innovatively funded through margin adjustments from AirTrunk’s sustainability-linked loans (SLL), will grow to a multi-million-dollar fund as the business scales in the coming years.
Through key partnerships, AirTrunk’s social impact program will address pressing social and environmental challenges. The groundbreaking program will deliver long-term and tangible, positive outcomes via a combination of funding and grants, ecosystem collaboration, knowledge sharing and employee engagement.
AirTrunk Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Lise Kay who oversees the social impact program said: “Today we’re marking ten years of AirTrunk’s growth with the launch of our social impact program. Our eight initial partnerships will support equal digital access, STEM education, biodiversity & conservation, and sustainable innovation in our region. Combined with our data centre investments, which enable the digital economy, we are committing to deliver long-term benefits to our communities across the region.
“The AirTrunker team is proud of how we’re supporting our communities, standing right behind our investment in this program and getting involved through mentoring, volunteering and other engagements like the ‘Ignite Your Impact’ employee event, that saw every AirTrunker allocate social impact funds to partners from our program.”
The foundation partnerships for AirTrunk’s social impact program include:
- Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN) in Australia: Supporting students from low socio-economic Western Sydney high schools to pursue a career in STEM through a career pathways program linked with Western Sydney University.
- CLACK in Japan: Developing AI skills in high school students through a dedicated AI teacher training program.
- DeadlyScience in Australia: Providing STEM programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in regional and remote schools.
- Garden City Fund (NParks) in Singapore: Supporting the conservation of the Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat Nature Park to protect habitats, restore coastlines, and educate communities.
- Rural Aid & SOURCE in Australia: Creating clean drinking water for remote schools in the Northern Territory using innovative hydropanel technology.
- Science Tokyo in Japan: Masters scholarships for women studying STEM, plus a Science Education Program for younger generations.
- Western Sydney University in Australia: Equity scholarships for STEM students, encouraging student success and access to higher education.
- WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature in Singapore: Empowering citizen scientists to take action by identifying and reporting illegal wildlife trade listings online through the Cyber Spotter Program.
AirTrunk Chief Financial & Commercial Officer, Prashant Murthy, who founded the social impact fund and chairs the social impact oversight committee, hosted a conversation at the event, with DeadlyScience Founder, A/Prof Corey Tutt OAM who said: “At DeadlyScience, we believe every child, no matter where they live, should have access to quality STEM education. Through our partnership with AirTrunk, we are empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with the tools and knowledge to become the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators.”
A Look to the Future
As well as celebrating the past decade, AirTrunk is looking ahead to a future shaped by accelerating digital transformation, AI adoption, and the growing demand for cloud infrastructure. As the world’s economies expand on a foundation of digital infrastructure, AirTrunk will continue to deliver shared value, so communities can directly benefit through local workforce development, renewable energy, circularity, decarbonised supply chains and clean technologies, and advancing social impact initiatives.
Less than two months after its acquisition by Blackstone and CPPIB Investments in December 2024, AirTrunk announced its second data centre in Malaysia in February 2025 and is set to announce further expansion plans across the region in the coming months to deliver at scale and speed for its cloud customers.
AirTrunk Founder and CEO, Robin Khuda, said: “AirTrunk is just getting started and as the speed of change accelerates, we’re remaining focused on innovating so we can deliver for our customers and ensure shared value for our communities. Through our social impact program, AirTrunk sets the stage for the next decade, where business success and societal benefits go hand in hand.”