Meta Partners with Reliance to Launch Its First AI Data Centre Initiative in India

As competition intensifies among technology companies seeking the computing infrastructure required to train and operate advanced AI systems, Meta has made its first major AI infrastructure commitment in India through a new data centre partnership with Reliance Industries. The move comes as India rapidly establishes itself as a key destination for AI infrastructure development.

Announced on Wednesday, the partnership will see Meta work with Reliance on a 168-megawatt AI-enabled data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The agreement builds on a relationship that has steadily expanded over recent years, beginning with Meta’s multibillion-dollar investment in Jio Platforms and later extending to a joint venture launched last year to develop enterprise AI solutions for customers in India and international markets.

The partnership arrives as India strengthens its position as an attractive location for AI infrastructure projects. Global technology companies are increasingly exploring new regions for data centre expansion as demand for computing resources surges amid the rapid growth of AI training and deployment workloads.

Several major technology firms, including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, OpenAI, and Uber, have recently announced investments related to AI and cloud infrastructure in India. The country has significantly expanded its data centre footprint over the past few years and continues to attract substantial interest from both domestic and international investors.

The momentum extends beyond global technology companies. Earlier this week, Blackstone-backed AirTrunk revealed plans to invest $30 billion to build 5 gigawatts of data centre capacity in India by 2030. At the same time, Indian conglomerates such as Adani and Tata Consultancy Services have unveiled large-scale expansion projects designed to support future AI computing demand.

The Indian government has actively encouraged these investments through policy initiatives aimed at attracting cloud and AI operators. Among the incentives are tax exemptions available through 2047 for foreign cloud providers delivering services overseas, provided those workloads are processed from facilities located within India.

According to government figures, India’s installed data centre capacity has increased from approximately 375 megawatts in 2020 to around 1.5 gigawatts in 2025. Industry forecasts suggest that capacity could grow to more than 8 gigawatts by the end of the decade, supported by rising cloud adoption, expanding AI workloads, and increasing demand for localised data processing.

The latest agreement between Meta and Reliance represents another milestone in a partnership that has continued to deepen since Meta invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms in 2020. Since then, the two companies have collaborated across a range of initiatives spanning digital services, enterprise AI offerings, and now the infrastructure supporting next-generation artificial intelligence systems.

As part of the new arrangement, Meta will lease capacity at Reliance’s Jamnagar facility. The companies said the data centre will operate using renewable energy and a cooling system based on desalinated seawater. Meta has agreed to cover the full cost of the energy and water required for its operations at the site.

Reliance stated that the 168-megawatt facility is expected to become operational within two years and has been designed with future expansion in mind. The company also said the site will contribute to Meta’s broader global AI infrastructure network and support the technology giant’s growing computing requirements.

Under the terms of the partnership, Reliance will provide end-to-end services, including facility design, construction, renewable energy supply, connectivity, and ongoing operations. The arrangement highlights Reliance’s ambition to position itself as a comprehensive AI infrastructure provider for multinational technology companies.

Separately, Meta announced that it has secured nearly 1 gigawatt of additional renewable energy capacity in India through agreements with CleanMax and Fourth Partner Energy. That capacity will supplement the renewable power resources supporting the Jamnagar project.

Neither company disclosed the financial value of the agreement. They also declined to specify the exact AI workloads that will be handled at the facility or whether Meta is planning additional AI infrastructure investments elsewhere in India.

The announcement nevertheless underscores India’s growing role in the global AI infrastructure landscape. It reflects the increasing importance of large-scale computing facilities as technology companies compete to support the next generation of AI systems.