What Lightstorm does

Lightstorm is a Singapore-headquartered, India-operating telecommunications infrastructure provider that delivers AI-optimized network connectivity services to hyperscale cloud providers, financial technology companies, and large digital enterprises. Founded in 2018 and operating across 7 countries with a footprint of 120+ connected data centers, the company is privately held and backed by I-Squared Capital and NIIF (National Investment and Infrastructure Fund). The company is currently evaluating an initial public offering.

The company's product architecture is built on two integrated layers. The foundation layer, branded SmartNet AI Fabric, is a purpose-built fiber network spanning 30,000+ km of terrestrial and 21,000+ km of subsea fiber with 3,000+ Tbps of deployed capacity, designed for low-jitter, loss-optimized transport to support synchronized AI training and latency-sensitive inference across distributed data centers and cloud hubs. The control layer is Polarin, a cloud-based Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform that allows customers to self-provision Layer 1, 2, and 3 connectivity services — including data center interconnect, cloud connect, internet exchange and CDN connectivity, virtual network edge, and dedicated optical waves — in minutes rather than months, with port capacities from 1G to 400G and SLAs ranging from 99.5% to 99.99%.

Lightstorm monetizes this infrastructure through two primary billing models: a Reserved Plan on monthly or annual subscription terms, and a Pay-as-You-Go plan billed on hourly usage. The customer base, as disclosed on the company's website, includes all four major hyperscalers (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle), Cisco, and Indian fintech and digital payment firms (PhonePe, AirPay, Equitas, Verse). The company also extends its reach through strategic channel partnerships, most notably with Rakuten Symphony for sovereign NaaS delivery to telecom operators and sovereign cloud providers across India, MEA, and APAC, and with Arrcus for AI-optimized routing. The company states it is profitable at the operating cash flow level, with 101-250 employees and planned AI infrastructure investment of $100-200 million over the next 24-36 months.

Name

Lightstorm

Legal name

Lightstorm Telecom Connectivity Pvt Ltd

Website

https://lightstorm.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Lightstorm is a Singapore-headquartered, India-operating telecom infrastructure provider that owns and operates 30,000+ km of terrestrial and 21,000+ km of subsea fiber, connecting 120+ data centers across 7 countries to deliver AI-optimized data center interconnect, cloud connectivity, and self-service NaaS services to hyperscalers, fintechs, and large enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Telecom Network Infrastructure

NAICS

Wired Telecommunications Carriers (517111), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Computer Communications Equipment (3576)

akta.pro primary industry

Cloud Connectivity & Interconnect (Cloud On-Ramps, IX, Cross-Connects) (HDAIAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wholesale Wavelength, Spectrum & Dark Fiber Providers (IRU/Leases) (HDAIALAI), Subsea Capacity Wholesale (IRUs, leased capacity, backhaul to landing stations) (HDAIAEAI), Optical/Transport Network Management (OTN/WDM Controllers) (HDAFAGAK), AI Networking for Clusters (InfiniBand/Ethernet/RDMA) (HDAAAAAE), Business/Enterprise Fixed Connectivity Providers (SME/Enterprise Broadband) (HDAIABAI), Network, Infrastructure & Data Center Integration (BPAEAAAK)

Keywords

• Data center interconnect
• Cloud connectivity services
• Fiber network infrastructure
• Network as a service
• Subsea cable systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Gurugram

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Network Connectivity Services: Provides data center interconnect, cloud connectivity, and network-as-a-service solutions. Revenue generated through subscription plans (reserved/annual) and pay-as-you-go consumption models based on port capacities (1G, 10G, 100G) and bandwidth usage.
2. Bandwidth Consumption: Usage-based charging for network bandwidth consumed. PAYG plan charges customers based on hourly usage in previous billing period. Customers can scale bandwidth on demand with Pay-as-You-Go flexibility.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lightstorm operates an AI Network Infrastructure platform that combines the SmartNet AI Fabric — purpose-built, low-jitter and loss-optimized fiber infrastructure for distributed data centers, cloud hubs and AI zones — with the Polarin Network-as-a-Service platform that enables self-service, on-demand provisioning of connectivity in minutes. The company owns and operates 30,000+ km of terrestrial fiber and 21,000+ km of subsea fiber across 120+ connected data centers in 7 countries, and sells data center interconnect, cloud connect, IX/CDN connectivity, virtual network edge, wave and virtual connection services to enterprises, hyperscalers and telecom operators.

Product overview

Lightstorm offers a unified AI Network Infrastructure platform combining two core products—SmartNet AI Fabric (the foundation layer providing low-jitter, loss-optimized transport) and Polarin (the control layer enabling on-demand, programmable NaaS provisioning). The platform delivers a portfolio of connectivity services including Data Center Interconnect, Cloud Connect, IX & CDN Connectivity, Virtual Network Edge, Wave, and Virtual Connection, all built on a global fiber network spanning 30,000+ km terrestrial, 21,000+ km subsea, 120+ connected data centers, and 3,000+ Tbps capacity. SmartNet powers deterministic performance for AI training and inference workloads while Polarin provides the self-service portal for on-demand provisioning of Layer 1, 2, and 3 connectivity services with SLAs ranging from 99.5% to 99.99% and port capacities from 1G to 400G.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Polarin: Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform providing agile and scalable networking interconnection capabilities for connecting data centers, hybrid and multi-cloud environments, internet exchanges, and SaaS applications.
• SmartNet

Products and services

• SmartNet AI Fabric Purpose-built infrastructure for low-jitter, loss-optimized transport across data centers, cloud hubs and distributed AI zones, powering synchronized AI training and latency-sensitive inference at scale. Provides deterministic performance, AI corridor design with deep-trenching fiber, congestion-controlled paths and high-capacity readiness from 400G to 1.6T.
• Polarin NaaS Platform Cloud-based Network-as-a-Service platform that enables businesses to self-provision data center interconnect, hybrid and multi-cloud connectivity, internet exchange and SaaS connectivity in minutes without manual intervention, supporting both reserved subscription plans and pay-as-you-go consumption.
• Data Center Interconnect High-capacity, low-latency DC-to-DC wave and virtual connectivity delivered over Lightstorm's fully owned and operated fiber network, completely bypassing the public internet for enterprise and cloud customers.
• Cloud Connect Seamless hybrid and multi-cloud private connectivity to leading Cloud Service Providers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle) up to L2/L3 gateway, bypassing the public internet for enterprise workloads.
• IX & CDN Connectivity Connectivity to leading Internet Exchanges and CDN providers, giving customers access to 500+ networks via a single connection for enhanced end-user experience.
• Virtual Network Edge Virtualized edge networking and security delivered without on-premises hardware, enabling enterprise-grade edge services on demand.
• Wave (Polarin 10G Wave Connectivity) Layer 1 dedicated optical connectivity between data centers delivering 10G bandwidth as a zero-touch, on-demand, agile NaaS solution for low-latency, secure and dedicated optical links.
• Virtual Connection Layer 2 Ethernet service between two endpoints enabling multi-point to multi-point connections with capacity adjustment and VLAN tag updates in minutes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 30% lower latency compared to alternatives
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• CienacoreTechnology or Integration · 24 March 2026Technology partnership for subsea cable upgrades. Ciena provided WaveLogic coherent optical technology to quadruple Lightstorm's Japan-Guam-Australia submarine cable system capacity to 400Gbps. Supports cloud, AI, and data workloads between Tokyo and Sydney. Enables multi-terabit production traffic for leading global cloud platform.
• Rakuten SymphonyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Strategic collaboration to deliver integrated cloud and network automation platform. Combines Lightstorm's Polarin NaaS platform with Rakuten Symphony's cloud-native and orchestration products. Targets telecom, data center, and sovereign cloud providers across India, MEA, and APAC. Focuses on in-country deployments and compliance with sovereign requirements.
• ArrcusflagshipTechnology or Integration · 3 March 2026Strategic partnership to deliver AI-optimized networking solutions across Asia-Pacific. Combines Arrcus' intelligent routing capabilities with Lightstorm's Polarin NaaS platform. Addresses critical AI infrastructure challenges including latency consistency for real-time inference, deterministic bandwidth for distributed training, and programmable provisioning through API-driven orchestration.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Equinix: Global colocation and interconnection leader operating 260+ IBX data centers with Equinix Fabric, a leading on-demand DCI and cloud on-ramp platform. Directly comparable to Lightstorm's Polarin NaaS + DCI offering, with much greater global scale and brand recognition.
• Lumen Technologies: Owns one of the largest US/global fiber and wavelength networks, with enterprise DCI, Cloud Connect, and on-demand Ethernet services that compete head-on with Lightstorm's SmartNet + Polarin stack for hyperscale and large enterprise customers.
• Zayo Group: Privately held fiber infrastructure operator with deep subsea and long-haul terrestrial footprint plus dark fiber, wavelength, and managed network services. Closest US analog in asset shape to Lightstorm's owned terrestrial + subsea model.
• Colt Technology Services: Enterprise-focused global network operator with IQ Network on-demand connectivity and cloud on-ramps; comparable product overlay (programmable DCI/cloud) and overlap on hyperscaler + financial-services customer segments targeted by Lightstorm.
• Megaport: Pure-play Network-as-a-Service platform providing on-demand connectivity to 800+ data centers and major clouds. The most direct functional competitor to Polarin in self-service DCI/cloud interconnect, though Megaport lacks Lightstorm's owned fiber depth.
• Console Connect (PCCW Global): PCCW Global's NaaS platform; Lightstorm partners with Console Connect to extend Polarin Global DCI to 180+ DCs, but the two compete as self-service interconnection platforms for hyperscale and enterprise cloud on-ramp workloads.

Broad incumbents

• NTT Communications: Global tier-1 carrier with owned subsea (NTT World) and terrestrial fiber plus enterprise cloud connectivity; broader portfolio than Lightstorm but overlapping on global DCI, cloud on-ramps, and enterprise managed network services.
• Tata Communications: Indian-headquartered global carrier operating a large subsea cable network (TGN) and enterprise connectivity services. Closest large incumbent competitor for enterprise and hyperscaler connectivity in India and globally.

Regional players

• Reliance Jio / Jio Platforms: India's largest telecom operator with nationwide fiber and rapidly expanding data center business; comparable vertical scope (fiber + DC + cloud adjacency) but predominantly India-focused and a potential customer/competitor for AI infrastructure connectivity in the Indian market.
• ST Telemedia Global Data Centres: Singapore-based data center operator with strong APAC (India, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia) colocation footprint. Comparable on the DC interconnect side of Lightstorm's business and on APAC enterprise customer overlap, though focused on facilities rather than fiber/NaaS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lightstorm