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Built by operators · Guided by experience

The people who have actually done it.

Datanix is led by operators and engineers who have personally built, secured and run the world's most critical data center infrastructure — 1 GW+ managed, 120+ data centers, across every major global market. This is the team behind the mandate.

Founding team

Built from inside the industry.

Between them, the founders bring capital, technology and delivery — the three disciplines an end-to-end platform has to master.

SA

Syam Appala

Co-Founder, Managing Partner
Entrepreneur · Inventor · Investor · AI Infrastructure

An entrepreneur, inventor and investor with over two decades across AI, infrastructure, cybersecurity and energy. As a Senior Distinguished Engineer in Cisco\'s Emerging Technologies & Incubation group, Syam incepted and scaled technologies generating $150B+ in revenue, and his inventions power the digital infrastructure of 65,000+ enterprises. As co-founder, he defines Datanix\'s strategy and technical direction — and its vision of agentic, autonomous AI-factory operations.

  • Senior Distinguished Engineer, Cisco Emerging Technologies & Incubation — incepted and scaled breakthrough technologies that generated $150B+ in revenue over the past decade
  • 20+ issued patents, 250+ pending (USPTO) — pioneer in enterprise networking, Zero Trust, trusted computing and policy-driven architecture powering 65,000+ enterprises worldwide
  • Deep-tech investor & advisor — New Photonics (AI optical interconnects), Zutacore (waterless direct-to-chip cooling), Roambee, Partex — setting benchmarks for energy-efficient AI infrastructure (4× throughput, 20%+ lower power/cooling)
  • MS Electrical & Computer Engineering, Tennessee Tech · Executive education in product & engineering management, Stanford & UC Berkeley Haas
MC

Manish Chauhan

Co-Founder, Managing Partner
DC Delivery · Operations Excellence · Multi-Market Execution

Manish ensures every Datanix commitment is delivered — from project inception through construction handover to institutional portfolio operations. He builds the operational infrastructure that turns advisory mandates into certified, high-performance assets.

  • Large-scale digital infrastructure delivery across US, Europe, India & LATAM
  • Supply-chain optimisation: procurement, vendor management, critical logistics
  • Human-capital leadership across four international offices
  • End-to-end DC lifecycle from greenfield delivery through institutional ops
VB

Venkat Bussa

Co-Founder, Managing Partner
Aurum Equity Partners · Cisco Systems · Stanford GSB · Harvard

A technology investor and fund manager with over two decades across venture capital, private equity and digital infrastructure. Venkat leads strategy, institutional relationships and capital allocation — committing his own capital to DC assets in the same geographies he advises on.

  • Founder, Chairman & GP — Aurum Equity Partners (DC private equity)
  • A decade at Cisco Systems in strategic technology leadership
  • Stanford GSB · Harvard University · Berkeley Haas VC Program
  • Venture partner and capital allocator across 25+ years of tech investing
Leadership

Seasoned professionals. A strategic approach to every mandate.

Datanix is led by seasoned data center professionals, each bringing deep industry expertise and cultivating the strategic partnerships that drive long-term value and measurable success for clients.

With diverse backgrounds in data center development, engineering and operations, the team shapes solutions that meet the industry's evolving demands — committed to excellence and continuous improvement on behalf of every client served.

1 GW+
Infrastructure managed
120+
Data centers operated
Advisory board

Decades of experience across data centers, security, capital markets & government.

Industry advisors who have led global data center operations, enterprise security architecture, technology capital markets and mission-critical public-sector infrastructure.

HZ

Hasmukh (Hasu) Zalavadia

Director, Global DC Ops & Network Infra — Verisign
200+ PoPs · 60+ countries · 20+ years global DC & network leadership
  • Director, Verisign — global DNS infrastructure across 200+ PoPs in 60+ countries
  • Expert in routing, switching, firewalls, VPNs, load balancers & DDoS mitigation
  • 20+ years in global DC operations, network architecture and cybersecurity
AM

Amit Mansuria

Director, Financial & Government Infra — Fannie Mae
Bank of America · Wells Fargo · Vonage · HP · 20+ years enterprise infra
  • Director, Fannie Mae — mission-critical DC infrastructure service delivery
  • 20+ years: enterprise infra, virtualisation, hybrid computing, disaster recovery
  • Led large-scale infrastructure modernisation at Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Vonage
HP

Harihar (Hari) Patel

Director, Government Programs & Public Sector — Verisign
VDOT · Maryland SHA · DPSCS · 20+ years government technology leadership
  • Director, Verisign — ROCC operations and public-sector infrastructure accounts
  • 20+ years supporting federal, state and local government technology programmes
  • Direct engagement: VDOT, Maryland SHA, DPSCS and multiple state agencies

Want to work with the people who built this industry?