AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda reveals ‘simple secret’ to building a multibillion-dollar empire

After sealing one of Australia’s biggest takeovers, Robin Khuda says while there are many keys to success, there is one that, to him, stands out beyond all measure.

Robin Khuda says ‘there is a lot of negative stuff going around in the world, but I think we focus more on the positive side’. Picture: Britta Campion/The Australian

Robin Khuda – who has catapulted himself into Australia’s wealthy elite after selling the data centre business he founded for $24bn – has a clear message for budding tech entrepreneurs: stay positive.

During a wide-ranging interview with The Australian, Mr Khuda – who came to Australia as an 18-year-old from Bangladesh a quarter of a century ago – was unfailingly polite and warm. He also smiled a lot – a strategy which helped him build one of the nation’s most successful tech ­empires.

“Just looking back … it’s not just one thing,” Khuda, 45, says when asked the secret to building a multi-billion dollar company.

“There are so many obstacles, like raising money. You’re trying to sign a customer, but the deal might fall through, your financing link to your customers, etc … a lot of chicken and egg.

“But I think the main lesson is to stay positive. I’m a very positive guy. I think everyone knows that in the business. Being positive is so important because if you’re negative, it impacts everyone else around here.”

Besides, there is enough bad news, particularly as venture capital funding remains subdued.

“There is a lot of negative stuff going around in the world, but I think we focus more on the positive side,” he says. “Being positive and being focused. For any business, whether you’re building a data centre or a start-up or something else … I think you need to be laser-focused.

“There are going to be a lot of tough moments. There are going to be a lot of moments when you’re pretty lonely. But I think just making sure you don’t give up – that’s really the key message for me.” Khuda sold AirTrunk, the data centre he founded nine years ago, to US private equity titan Blackstone last week, capping off one of Australia’s biggest takeovers as the artificial intelligence boom hits fever pitch.

‘I’m a positive guy’: Robin Khuda. Picture: Britta Campion/The Australian

The $24bn price tag was more than eight times the valuation of when Macquarie and PSP bought into the business in 2020. Back then Khuda said he could turn AirTrunk into a $10bn business. He now says he can elevate it to a $100bn business, as the world’s biggest tech companies – which are also AirTrunk’s customers – plan to invest about $1 trillion in data centres in the next five years to meet the seemingly insatiable demand for AI.

But Khuda was not always that confident. He admits when he founded AirTrunk he did not envisage it would become such a ­colossus.

“I knew we were going to be successful. I spent all my money into this business and failure was not an option for me. I genuinely believed what AirTrunk was doing – it was a game-changer for the industry.

“It was one of those industries, old industries, where there was no innovation. Everyone was doing it the same way, over and over. No one was sort of challenging the way things should be done to drive better efficiency, having better alignment with the customer, so in that sense, I was a big believer that we would be successful.

“Now, we sold the business to Macquarie four-and-a-half years ago for $3bn – that was a big deal at the time. And $24bn, look to be honest, I didn’t envisage we would be as big.”

Airtrunk founder and CEO Robin Khuda with Macquarie Group boss Shemara Wikramanayake.

Khuda considers himself fortunate for forging strong relationships with AirTrunk’s customers – particularly one in AirTrunk’s early days, which helped its expansion. When he founded the company, his initial focus was on entering Asia – particularly Hong Kong and Singapore.

“That’s where I initially started focusing on, then over time one of the cloud providers were looking for capacity in Sydney and Melbourne. They said ‘you’ve worked with us before, would you be interested?’. I said I wasn’t interested in Australia – I want to build in Singapore and Hong Kong and by the way I don’t have any money and don’t have any site.

“And they said, ‘we trust you and can you go through the process’. By mid 2017, we had signed a half a billion contract with them to build in Sydney and Melbourne. It’s been a hell of a ride.”

Originally published as AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda reveals ‘simple secret’ to building a multibillion-dollar empire