Main image: The debut Ondas Manly development offers views of one of Sydney’s most iconic beaches.
—by Carlie Trotter
Robin Khuda sold AirTrunk just as the AI boom made data centres indispensable. Now the infrastructure titan is applying his exacting standards to Australia’s most coveted coastal addresses
Despite evidence to the contrary, Robin Khuda does not possess a crystal ball. The famously smiley 46-year-old entrepreneur who built and sold hyperscale data centre giant AirTrunk for a staggering $24bn last year—Australia’s biggest acquisition of 2024, perfectly timed for the world-upending AI compute boom—prefers to speak of patterns, courage and the discipline of measured risk. Yet his uncanny ability to identify opportunities years ahead of market consensus has made him one of Asia Pacific’s most successful technology infrastructure pioneers.
“I’ve always been curious about what lies just beyond the horizon and drawn to patterns others might overlook,” Khuda says from his North Sydney office, where floor-to-ceiling windows frame the harbour that first captivated him when he arrived from Bangladesh as an 18-year-old with no money and no network.
“Being comfortable with uncertainty and having the conviction to follow through when the path isn’t obvious goes a long way.”
In 2015, when data centres were barely a blip on the public consciousness and ‘hyperscale’ meant nothing to investors, Khuda founded AirTrunk with a vision of vast facilities that would power the digital revolution. The following year, the firm secured a $400m contract but lacked the capital to execute it. Rather than walk away, he personally funded the initial operations until Goldman Sachs and TPG Sixth Street Partners came aboard as early backers. “I learned that taking risks—when done with care and discipline—can really change things,” he reflects. “It’s about choosing the right moment, understanding why it’s important and being ready to keep going after the decision is made.”
With institutional backing secured, AirTrunk expanded methodically across Australia, then into Malaysia and Japan. By the time he orchestrated its partial sale to a consortium including Blackstone and the Canada Pension Plan last year, the company had multiplied eightfold in value since 2020, operating across five APAC markets with customers including Microsoft, Google and Amazon. Khuda structured the deal to maintain both leadership and a small equity position.
“We built hyperscale data centres before most people were even using the term, which meant a lot of explaining, a lot of patience and occasionally wondering if I’d misread the room entirely,” he recalls. “You need to balance bold vision with operational discipline and surround yourself with people who aren’t just smart but who believe in the long game.”
From cloud to coast
Alongside his continuing role as AirTrunk chief executive, Khuda established Ondas in 2021, dividing his attention between digital infrastructure and residential architecture.
The boutique apartment developer focuses exclusively on waterfront sites—by definition irreplicable—in Australia’s most coveted coastal locations. It is a strategic move into a market gap he identified during his own drawn-out property search.
“When searching for my own beachfront home, I realised how limited the options were for people seeking something truly special: a residence that is not only beautifully designed and move-in ready, but also responds to the Australian way of life,”he explains. That insight has been sharpened through dialogue with the Kay & Burton team, who understand exactly which waterfront opportunities warrant Ondas’ attention. “We’re seeing a new generation of buyers, from downsizers ready for their next chapter to returning expats who’ve encountered a certain calibre of design abroad, all searching for homes that feel as exceptional as their life experiences.”
The name Ondas (Spanish for waves) captures the next wave of Khuda’s ambitions, this time in bedrooms and balconies rather than servers and silicon. “After years of building infrastructure at hyperscale, I found myself gravitating toward something more tactile: the way architecture, light and landscape can influence how we live and feel,” he says. “Creating spaces in locations I personally love—like Palm Beach, Mosman and Sorrento—felt less like a pivot and more like a natural evolution.”
Each project begins not with architectural plans but with a core question: how will people inhabit these spaces, day after day, season after season? “Australia’s coastline is unlike anywhere else in the world: raw, expansive and alive. As someone who came from overseas, I’m constantly struck by its power to shape not just the landscape but the way we live,” Khuda reflects. “We begin by embracing a sense of openness, seamless connection between interior and exterior, and a respect for the native environment that is more than just aesthetic—it’s experiential.”
Strategic Shores
The proof of concept came early last year, when Ondas Manly’s penthouse sold for more than $18m. The six-residence building, designed by Rob Mills Architecture, features a geometric facade with soft curves that echo the beach and breakers below. From there, Ondas has expanded north to Palm Beach, where five apartments will rise beside the heritage-listed Barrenjoey House; across to Mosman, where $32m recently secured a site for six storeys of harbour views; and interstate to Melbourne, where 16 St Kilda apartments are already under construction.
Each location has been chosen for its prime waterfront position and potential to showcase what Khuda calls his “zero tolerance for failure” approach, the same standard that ensures AirTrunk data centres operate with military precision. “As with many things in life, who you choose to partner with is so important. Ondas partners with only the best-in-class architects, builders, landscape and interior stylists,” he adds.
The Manly residences demonstrate this rigour with deep overhangs that temper the summer sun, limestone underfoot that blurs the threshold between inside and out, and kitchen benches carved from single marble slabs that promise both beauty and decades of use.
INTUITIVE LUXURY
With three-bed apartments starting from $8.75m, Ondas buyers seek what Khuda calls “that elusive blend of ease, authenticity and subtle delight” that is the hallmark of world-class hospitality. “We take inspiration from the effortless comfort of a favourite retreat,” he explains, “but rather than trying to create a place that feels like a holiday escape, the goal is to foster a home that enriches everyday living, where the sense of renewal and tranquillity is constant.” This ethos manifests in technology that anticipates rather than intrudes: lighting, climate and blinds respond to weather and time of day, wine storage maintains ideal conditions, music follows seamlessly between rooms.
Khuda’s enthusiasm for the process is palpable. “There’s something incredibly fulfilling about crafting spaces that impact lives, spark connection and become part of someone’s everyday story,” he says. He is applying these same principles to his own Balmoral project, where he and wife Melea are consolidating a double block with the neighbouring property to create their own tri-level residence, testing every Ondas principle firsthand.
EXPANDING HORIZONS
Perhaps Khuda’s most significant construction project is creating pathways for the next generation. Newly named 2025 Sydneysider of the Year, Khuda made headlines in February when the donated $100m to the University of Sydney, the largest gift in the university’s history and among the most significant in Australian philanthropy. The gift funds an ambitious 20-year program to equip thousands of girls from Western Sydney with pathways into STEM, spanning high school outreach, academic mentoring and university scholarships. “My vision, shared with the University of Sydney, is that this program that we’ve created will become a game-changing template that others can leverage and scale in the future,” Khuda stated at the announcement. It is characteristic of his approach to look beyond solving immediate problems in favour of systemic, generational change.
ALWAYS BUILDING
Juggling AirTrunk’s continued growth with Ondas’ expansion would overwhelm most, but Khuda seems energised rather than exhausted by the dual demands. “I’m drawn to projects that require patience and precision,” he acknowledges. Though the entrepreneurial drive never fully quiets, he has learned when to step back. These days, rest means family time, ocean walks, genuine quiet—fuel for the work rather than escape from it.
Different as they are, both ventures define how we will inhabit the future. AirTrunk powers our digital existence; Ondas grounds us in physical space. “We’re creating places with lasting quality and character, designed to fit naturally into their surroundings and support the way people actually live,” Khuda says. Then, with the exactitude that has defined his career: “Every element, from the curve of a wall to the framing of a view, is intentional.”