Meta Partners Reliance To Set Up First Data Centre In India

Global tech giant Meta has tied up with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to set up its first AI-enabled data centre in India.

The data centre will be set up in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, with an initial capacity of 168 ​MW and an option to scale it further, the social media major said in a statement, adding that the data centre will be constructed by RIL and leased to Meta. The facility is expected to become operational within two years.

“… This world-class facility in Jamnagar will help us scale our AI infrastructure globally while deepening our long-term investment in India’s economy,” Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.

The data centre will be powered by sustainable energy sources and cooled with desalinated seawater, and the entire cost of running the facility will be borne by Meta. As per Meta, India’s growing digital economy and large user base make it an ideal destination to expand data centre capacity.

Under the agreement, RIL will act as a single window solutions provider, handling end-to-end services spanning design, construction, utility management, renewable power supply, network connectivity, and fully managed operational services.

RIL also noted in a statement that Jamnagar’s strategic location will provide advantages like delivery capability, renewable energy, water availability, proximity to India’s western submarine cable landing stations and Jio’s extensive fibre network.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, also announced that it has contracted nearly 1 GW of new clean and renewable energy in India through agreements with Gurugram-based clean energy companies CleanMax and Fourth Partner Energy.

CleanMax will install 837 MW of new solar and wind projects in Rajasthan and Karnataka, taking the total capacity announced with Meta to over 900 MW. Meanwhile, Fourth Partner Energy will install 88 MW of new solar and wind projects across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh to ensure that Meta’s infrastructure in India is powered by renewable energy sources.

RIL’s Growing AI Ambitions

The partnership is aligned with the oil-to-telecom conglomerate’s expanding AI ambitions. Last year, RIL and Meta said they would set up a joint venture that will focus on building “sovereign enterprise AI solutions” using open models and tools from Meta. The venture would make available Meta’s open source Llama models to Indian businesses, enabling them to adopt AI at scale.

At the time, RIL and Meta jointly committed an initial investment of ₹855 Cr (about $89.67 Mn), with Reliance contributing 70% and Meta 30%.

Later, RIL set up AI-focused subsidiary Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Ltd and allotted a 30% stake to Meta. The subsidiary is tasked with building gigawatt-scale AI data centres, starting with Jamnagar.

Overall, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani has committed an investment of ₹10 Lakh Cr on scaling AI infrastructure in India.

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