Meta ties up with Ambani's Reliance for AI data center in India

Facebook-parent Meta said on Wednesday ​that it has tied up with Indian ‌billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries for the US company’s first AI-enabled data center in India.

Reliance will ​build a data center with 168 ​MW capacity in Jamnagar in the western ⁠Indian state of Gujarat, which Meta will ​lease, with options to scale, according to the ​statement.

Meta said India’s massive user base and fast-growing digital economy make it an ideal place to invest.

India’s ​data center market is projected to nearly ​double to $13.11 billion by 2034, fueled by digital transformation, ‌cloud ⁠adoption and rising AI workloads, according to consulting firm IMARC Group.

In August last year, Meta and Reliance formed a joint venture to ​build AI ​platforms and ⁠tools for enterprises in India, using Meta’s Llama models. Reliance and ​Meta had jointly committed an initial ​investment ⁠of 8.55 billion rupees ($89.67 million), split 70% and 30% respectively.

In 2020, Meta invested $5.7 billion in ⁠Jio ​Platforms, a Reliance entity.