Meta Leases 168-MW AI Data Center from Reliance in Jamnagar

Meta Platforms has struck a deal to lease a new artificial intelligence data center in India, marking another move by American tech giants to expand computing capacity overseas. The agreement with Reliance Industries calls for a 168-megawatt facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat, set to come online within two years with room for further growth.

The arrangement builds on years of collaboration between the companies. Meta poured $5.7 billion into Reliance's Jio Platforms in 2020. Last year the firms launched a joint venture to bring Meta's open-source AI models to Indian businesses. Reliance will handle construction and delivery of the new site, which Zuckerberg described as a way to scale AI operations globally while strengthening ties to the Indian economy.

Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani called the project a turning point for India's digital setup. The country has drawn heavy interest from hyperscalers, with roughly $400 billion directed toward AI infrastructure and energy needs in the past year alone. Nomura analysts project India's data center capacity could reach 7 gigawatts by 2030, fueled by cost advantages and government incentives that include tax breaks through 2047 for foreign cloud services run from Indian facilities.

Other players are following the same path. Microsoft, Amazon, Google, OpenAI and Uber have all announced AI and cloud investments in India. Blackstone-backed AirTrunk recently pledged $30 billion to develop 5 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. Indian firms such as Adani and Tata Consultancy Services are also ramping up their own data center plans.

The move comes as demand for AI training and inference power continues to surge. Companies are hunting for new locations to house the necessary hardware, and India has positioned itself as an attractive alternative with lower costs and supportive policies. Yet questions linger about the long-term effects on American infrastructure and jobs when major U.S. firms direct capital and technology abroad rather than at home.

Meta's history of data handling and content moderation has already drawn scrutiny from regulators and users in the United States. Placing critical AI systems under the operational control of a foreign partner adds another layer of complexity, even if the initial lease arrangement appears straightforward on paper. Reliance's wide-ranging business interests, from energy to media, give it significant influence inside India that could shape how the facility operates over time.

Industry observers note that the broader rush into Indian data centers reflects a scramble for power and land that domestic markets in the U.S. and Europe have struggled to supply quickly enough. Whether these overseas projects ultimately strengthen or dilute American technological leadership remains an open issue as more deals of this scale take shape.