Meta has taken another step forward in its effort to build up its Artificial Intelligence infrastructure with the unveiling of a plan for its first data center in India. The social media giant confirmed that it had agreed to lease a facility from India-based conglomerate Reliance Industries in the city of Jamnagar, in the western state of Gujarat. Reliance will build the center, with operations expected to start in two years, with a confirmed initial capacity of 168 megawatts and options to scale in the future. Under the agreement, Reliance said it will provide end-to-end services for the lifecycle of the data center, including management of utilities and connectivity.
The deal marks an extension of the partnership between Meta and Reliance, following Meta’s $5.7bn investment in the Indian company’s Jio Platforms in 2020, and its participation in a joint venture with a subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence, last year. No financials were confirmed for the data center project. In tandem with the data center plan, Meta said it was partnering with Indian companies CleanMax and Fourth Partner Energy to provide nearly 1 gigawatt of renewable energy as the infrastructure build-up gathers momentum.
India is rapidly emerging as a key hub for Artificial Intelligence infrastructure, with a number of key players, including Microsoft, Amazon and OpenAI all unveiling major investments in the country over the past six months. Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani said the Meta deal could be the most significant yet, describing the partnership as a transformative moment for India’s digital infrastructure and a demonstration of the country’s readiness to be at the forefront of the global Artificial Intelligence revolution.
Meta also faced frustration in Europe as the EU Commission did not back down in the ongoing battle over the company’s decision to block rival companies’ Artificial Intelligence chatbots from using WhatsApp’s business API. The commission on June 8 ordered Meta to restore free access to WhatsApp for rivals until the end of the commission’s antitrust probe. The EU alleges Meta has been abusing its “dominant position” in Europe. Meta said the decision lets OpenAI and some of the world’s largest companies use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free, calling it “regulatory overreach” and saying it will appeal.
