GDS’s DayOne Raises $2B in Equity With Boost From Indonesia Sovereign Fund

DayOne, the overseas arm of Shanghai-based GDS Holdings, has won the backing of Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund as part of a Series C round that raised $2 billion in equity for the data centre operator.

The round was led by an existing investor, Manhattan-based Coatue Management, with participation from institutions including the Indonesia Investment Authority, a current partner with DayOne on a joint venture in that country. The fresh funds add to the $1.9 billion raised in DayOne’s previous equity rounds in 2024, including from Japan’s SoftBank and Citadel boss Ken Griffin.

In a release on Monday, DayOne CEO Jamie Khoo positioned the investment as one of the largest private fundraisings in the data centre sector and a sign of confidence in the Singapore-based platform’s capabilities and long-term growth trajectory.

“This new capital further strengthens our ability to expand our European and Asia Pacific platforms, execute against our secured development pipeline, and deliver high-performance, AI-ready capacity that supports the long-term needs of the world’s technology leaders,” Khoo said.

International Buildout

The proceeds from the funding round will advance the development of DayOne’s Finland business, centred on hyperscale campuses in the cities of Lahti and Kouvola, which form the foundation of the firm’s Europe strategy.

DayOne last month secured a mezzanine financing facility of €500 million, expandable up to €1 billion ($1.2 billion), from Canadian asset management giant Brookfield and an unnamed global sovereign investor to support the Finnish rollout. The facility provides flexibility to allocate proceeds to other key growth markets as required, DayOne said.

In Asia, the Series C capital will be deployed to support the growth of DayOne’s footprint across Singapore, Malaysia’s Johor and Indonesia’s Batam, as well as markets in Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong.

“These investments will strengthen delivery across DayOne’s secured customer commitments of approximately 1GW, reflecting one of the fastest growth trajectories among next-generation hyperscale infrastructure platforms,” the company said.

In 2023, GDS set up a joint venture with the Indonesia Investment Authority as the vehicle for a countrywide data centre platform, including development of a 72MW campus at Nongsa Digital Park in Batam. The Series C investment in DayOne represents a deepening of the partnership at the global level, said Ridha Wirakusumah, CEO of the $10 billion sovereign fund.

Strategic Rebrand

Formerly known as GDS International, DayOne describes itself as having separate corporate governance, operations, finance and technology functions from its mainland China parent.

GDS Holdings chairman and CEO William Huang also chairs DayOne, and analysts have described last year’s rebrand as a move to distance the international unit from its Shanghai-based parent amid geopolitical risks, while potentially positioning the company for an initial public offering.

In late 2024, Bloomberg reported that GDS was considering an IPO for a REIT of its data centre assets in China. Sources at the time told the news agency that GDS was working with advisors to sound out interest in a share sale that could raise RMB 1 billion (then $140 million).