Meta and Reliance Announce Major AI Data Center Investment in India

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has announced a significant partnership agreement with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. (NSE:RELI) to establish its first artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data center in India. This move stands out as the latest in a wave of infrastructure investments by global technology giants targeting India's rapidly expanding digital economy. Under the agreement, Reliance will construct a 168-megawatt (MW) capacity data center, which Meta will lease, with options for future capacity expansion.

The partnership will be implemented in Jamnagar, Gujarat, where Reliance is developing one of the world's largest data center campuses. The facility is set to support Meta's global infrastructure and AI computing needs, playing a critical role in enabling the company's products like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, as well as its ambitions for 'personal superintelligence.' Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that this facility would help Meta scale its AI infrastructure globally while deepening its long-term investments in India's economy.

The data center is planned to be powered by renewable energy sources and cooled with desalinated seawater. Meta will cover the full cost of energy and water supporting the facility. Additionally, Meta is separately partnering with leading clean energy providers in India, CleanMax and Fourth Partner Energy, to back nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity. This sustainability-focused approach demonstrates both companies' environmental commitments.

This development underscores India's rising prominence in the global AI and digital ecosystem. The country has become an attractive hub for significant technology investments due to its large digital user base, growing technology ecosystem, and increasing focus on AI innovation. Other major tech firms, such as Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), are also making substantial investments in India. According to IMARC Group, India's data center market is projected to nearly double to $13.11 billion by 2034.

This collaboration between Meta and Reliance is not new; in 2020, Meta made a landmark $5.7 billion investment in Jio Platforms, Reliance's technology and telecommunications arm. More recently, a joint venture was formed to bring Meta's open-source Llama AI models to Indian enterprises and developers. This latest data center agreement represents a new phase of their strategic partnership, extending to physical infrastructure. Following the news, Reliance's shares rallied by as much as 2.5%.

Analysts and market observers note that this partnership will position Reliance as a single-window solutions provider for hyperscale AI infrastructure in India. Experts emphasize that Reliance is leveraging its strengths in power, project execution, telecom reach, and balance sheet scale to build AI infrastructure as a real asset business. The data center is expected to be delivered within two years, and this investment is anticipated to significantly contribute to India's goal of becoming a global leader in AI innovation.