Meta signs first AI data center deal in India with Reliance
As tech companies race to secure the computing power needed to train and deploy AI systems, Meta is making its first AI infrastructure bet in
As tech companies race to secure the computing power needed to train and deploy AI systems, Meta is making its first AI infrastructure bet in India, striking a data center partnership with conglomerate Reliance Industries in a market that is rapidly emerging as a hub for AI infrastructure. The partnership, announced on Wednesday, will see Meta collaborate with Reliance on a 168-megawatt AI-enabled data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat, expanding a relationship that has evolved from Meta’s multibillion-dollar investment in Reliance’s Jio Platforms to a $100 million joint venture launched last year to develop enterprise AI solutions for customers in India and overseas markets. The deal comes as India cements its status as a natural destination for AI infrastructure investments, with tech giants seeking new geographies for data centers amid soaring demand for computing power to train and deploy AI models.
Companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, OpenAI, and Uber have recently announced AI and cloud infrastructure investments in the country, which has rapidly expanded its data center footprint in recent years. The rush into India extends beyond global technology firms. Earlier this week, Blackstone-backed AirTrunk announced plans to invest $30 billion to build 5 gigawatts of data center capacity in the country by 2030, while Indian conglomerates including Adani and Tata Consultancy Services have also unveiled major data center expansion plans aimed at supporting AI workloads. New Delhi has sought to attract such investments through policy incentives, including tax exemptions through 2047 for foreign cloud providers on services sold overseas, so long as those workloads are run from Indian data centers. India’s installed data center capacity has risen from about 375 megawatts in 2020 to around 1.5 gigawatts in 2025, according to government data.
Industry estimates project that figure could grow more than fivefold to over 8 gigawatts by the end of the decade, driven by cloud adoption, AI workloads, and rising demand for local data processing. The Meta-Reliance agreement marks the latest chapter in a relationship that has steadily deepened since Meta invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms in 2020. Since then, the companies have expanded their collaboration across digital services, enterprise AI, and now the infrastructure underpinning next-generation AI systems. As part of the partnership, Meta is leasing capacity at Reliance’s new Jamnagar facility, which the companies said will be powered by renewable energy and cooled using desalinated seawater. Meta has committed to covering the entire cost of the energy and water required to support its operations there. Reliance said the 168-megawatt facility will ready within two years and can be expanded over time.
The BriefWire