Meta partners with Reliance to lease first AI-enabled data center in India

Meta and Reliance Industries have announced an agreement for Meta’s first AI-enabled data center in India, marking a major expansion of their strategic partnership. Under the arrangement, Reliance will build a 168 MW data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which Meta will lease to support its products and artificial intelligence infrastructure. The agreement also includes options for future capacity expansion as Meta continues to increase its global AI capabilities.

The facility will be located within Reliance’s data center campus in Jamnagar, a site being developed as one of the world's largest data center hubs. According to the companies, the data center will be powered by renewable energy and cooled using desalinated seawater. Meta will bear the full cost of the energy and water required to operate the facility. The investment is intended to bring AI infrastructure closer to one of Meta’s largest and fastest-growing user communities globally.

Meta stated that the project forms part of its broader effort to expand global infrastructure supporting technologies, digital services and AI development. The company identified India’s rapidly growing digital economy, large user base and long-standing partnership with Reliance as key factors behind the investment. The Jamnagar facility will also complement broader connectivity initiatives, including Meta’s network infrastructure projects in the region.

The latest agreement builds on an existing relationship between Meta and Reliance. In 2020, Meta invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms to support digital connectivity and business growth initiatives. The two companies later expanded cooperation through initiatives involving artificial intelligence technologies for enterprises and developers. The Jamnagar data center project extends the partnership into large-scale physical infrastructure supporting AI operations.

Alongside the data center announcement, Meta revealed agreements for nearly 1 GW of renewable energy capacity in India. Through CleanMax, the company will support 837 MW of new solar and wind projects in Rajasthan and Karnataka, bringing the total announced capacity with the provider to more than 900 MW. Meta has also partnered with Fourth Partner Energy for 88 MW of additional solar and wind projects across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

The renewable energy agreements are intended to support Meta’s growing infrastructure requirements in India and contribute to its objective of matching operations with 100 percent clean and renewable energy. Combined with Reliance’s renewable energy support for the Jamnagar facility, the projects represent a significant expansion of clean energy capacity linked to Meta’s operations in the country.