Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has joined forces with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries in India to establish its inaugural AI-enabled data center in the country. The collaboration was unveiled on June 9, with Reliance slated to construct a 168-megawatt facility in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Meta will lease the space initially and has the option to expand in the future.
This data center, set to operate on renewable energy sources and utilize desalinated seawater for cooling, will be funded by Meta for its power and water requirements. It is part of a larger complex being developed by Reliance in the same area.
This partnership stems from previous engagements between the two entities. In 2020, Meta made a significant investment of $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, an arm of Reliance. Subsequently, they established a joint venture last August to develop AI technologies for Indian businesses, leveraging Meta’s Llama models. The venture commenced with an initial investment of 8.55 billion rupees, with 70% contributed by Reliance and 30% by Meta.
Additionally, Meta has inked separate agreements with Indian energy firms CleanMax and Fourth Partner Energy to procure nearly one gigawatt of new solar and wind power capacity. These agreements aim to bolster Meta’s expanding operations in India.
