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

Meta Platforms has struck a deal to lease an artificial intelligence data center in India from Reliance Industries, the conglomerate controlled by Mukesh Ambani, one of the world's richest men. The agreement covers a 168-megawatt facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which Reliance will build and hand over within two years, with room for further expansion.

The arrangement marks Meta's first dedicated AI infrastructure investment in the country and extends a relationship that began in 2020 when the company put $5.7 billion into Ambani's Jio Platforms. Last year the pair formed a joint venture to distribute Meta's open-source AI models to Indian businesses. Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the new site would help the company grow its global AI capacity while deepening ties to India's economy. Ambani called it a landmark step for the nation's digital backbone.

The move fits a wider pattern of technology firms racing to secure computing resources in India as demand for AI training and deployment surges worldwide. Microsoft, Amazon, Google and others have announced their own data center and cloud projects in recent months. Blackstone-backed AirTrunk has pledged $30 billion to develop 5 gigawatts of capacity by 2030, while Indian groups such as Adani and Tata Consultancy Services are also scaling up. Analysts at Nomura estimate India's data center capacity could reach 7 gigawatts by the end of the decade, fueled in part by roughly $400 billion in recent AI-related investment.

New Delhi has encouraged the influx through tax exemptions running until 2047 for foreign cloud services sold abroad when the work runs on Indian soil. Data centers, however, consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, raising questions about long-term costs for local communities and power grids already stretched in several regions.

Reliance's empire spans petrochemicals, telecom, retail and media, giving Ambani significant influence over both physical infrastructure and digital platforms. Meta, for its part, continues to face regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries over data practices and market power. The Jamnagar project will be operated under a leasing model that lets Meta avoid direct ownership while still gaining dedicated capacity.

Industry observers note that such partnerships often prioritize the interests of large corporations and wealthy investors over broader questions of labor conditions, energy equity and local oversight. As more hyperscalers line up similar deals, India's role as an AI infrastructure hub appears set to grow, yet the benefits may remain concentrated among a handful of global and domestic elites.