As know-how corporations race to safe the computing energy wanted to coach and deploy AI programs, Mehta is the primary firm in India to wager on AI infrastructure, inking a knowledge middle partnership with conglomerate Reliance Industries in a market that’s quickly rising as an AI infrastructure hub.
The partnership, introduced on Wednesday, will see Mehta work with Reliance on a 168-megawatt AI-enabled knowledge middle in Jamnagar, Gujarat, extending a relationship that grew out of Mehta’s multibillion-dollar funding in Reliance’s Jio platform to a $100 million three way partnership it launched final yr to develop enterprise AI options for patrons in India and worldwide markets.
The deal comes as tech giants search new geographies for knowledge facilities as demand for computing energy for coaching and deploying AI fashions soars, solidifying India’s place as a pure vacation spot for AI infrastructure funding. Corporations akin to Microsoft, Amazon, Google, OpenAI, and Uber have not too long ago introduced investments in AI and cloud infrastructure within the nation, and knowledge middle footprints have expanded quickly lately.
The frenzy to enter India just isn’t restricted to world know-how corporations. Earlier this week, Blackstone-backed AirTrunk introduced plans to take a position $30 billion to construct 5 gigawatts of knowledge middle capability within the nation by 2030, whereas Indian conglomerates together with Adani and Tata Consultancy Companies additionally introduced large knowledge middle enlargement plans geared toward supporting AI workloads.
New Delhi is making an attempt to draw such funding by way of coverage incentives akin to tax exemptions for overseas cloud suppliers on companies bought abroad till 2047, so long as workloads run in Indian knowledge facilities.
India’s put in knowledge middle capability elevated from about 375 MW in 2020 to about 1.5 GW in 2025, in accordance with authorities knowledge. Trade estimates counsel that this quantity may enhance greater than 5 instances to greater than 8 gigawatts by the top of the last decade, pushed by cloud adoption, AI workloads, and rising demand for native knowledge processing.
The Meta-Reliance deal marks the newest chapter in a relationship that has steadily deepened since Meta invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms in 2020. Since then, the 2 corporations have expanded their collaboration throughout digital companies, enterprise AI, and now the infrastructure that powers next-generation AI programs.
As a part of the partnership, Mehta is leasing capability at Reliance’s new Jamnagar facility, which the businesses say can be powered by renewable power and cooled with desalinated seawater. Meta has dedicated to protecting the complete price of power and water wanted to assist its operations there.
Reliance mentioned the 168-megawatt facility can be accomplished inside two years and may be expanded over time. Moreover, the information middle may even assist Meta’s world infrastructure and AI computing necessities, instantly connecting India to the corporate’s world community of AI amenities.
Below the settlement, Reliance mentioned it should present end-to-end companies from design and development to renewable energy, connectivity and steady operations, an indication of the conglomerate’s ambition to turn into a one-stop store for AI infrastructure amongst world know-how corporations.
Individually, Mehta mentioned it has signed up roughly 1 GW of latest renewable power capability in India by way of agreements with CleanMax and Fourth Companion Power, to complement the renewable power supporting its Jamnagar facility.
The businesses didn’t disclose the worth of the contract, the forms of AI workloads that can be run from the power, or whether or not Meta plans to put money into further AI infrastructure in India.
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