In a significant step for India’s growing role in artificial intelligence infrastructure, Meta Platforms and Reliance Industries have partnered to develop a 168-megawatt AI-enabled data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat. This marks Meta’s first such facility in the country, with Reliance taking the lead on construction and operations under a built-to-suit arrangement. Meta will lease the capacity without owning the infrastructure, allowing for potential future expansion.
The project underscores India’s rising importance to Meta’s global operations. The company reported 3.56 billion daily active users across its platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger in the first quarter of 2026, with India representing its largest user base for Facebook and a leading market for its AI services. Establishing local infrastructure addresses longstanding challenges in supporting this massive scale from facilities located outside the country.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the collaboration’s potential to expand the company’s worldwide AI capabilities while strengthening ties with India. The facility is designed to meet Meta’s immediate AI computing demands and support longer-term goals related to advanced personal intelligence systems. It will operate on renewable energy sources and use desalinated seawater for cooling, with Meta assuming the associated power and water expenses. Separately, the company has secured nearly 1 gigawatt of additional clean energy capacity in India through partnerships with renewable providers.
Jamnagar is already home to Reliance’s extensive refining and petrochemical activities. The conglomerate is developing one of the world’s largest data centre campuses in the area, leveraging its investments in solar, wind, and green hydrogen energy projects. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani described the initiative as a pivotal development for India’s digital landscape, positioning the nation as a key player in the global AI sector. He noted that Jamnagar is set to emerge as a prominent hub for large-scale AI computing.
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The site’s strategic advantages include its closeness to submarine cable landing points along India’s western coast and integration with Jio’s fibre optic network. Plans also call for connections to Meta’s broader international subsea cable projects.
The partnership builds on a relationship that began in 2020 with Meta’s substantial investment in Jio Platforms, followed by a joint AI enterprise last year. This data centre represents the most ambitious and resource-intensive collaboration between the two companies to date.
India has seen increased interest from global technology firms in AI and cloud infrastructure this year. Government measures designating data centres as critical national assets have facilitated several such projects. For Meta, which allocated $72.22 billion in capital expenditure during its 2025 financial year primarily toward AI and data centre development this marks its inaugural on-the-ground deployment in India.
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