Jamnagar Gets India’s First AI Data Center Built for a Global Tech Giant
Meta Platforms and Reliance Industries announced on June 11, 2026 that Reliance will build a 168-megawatt, AI-enabled data center at its industrial campus in Jamnagar, Gujarat — the first facility of this kind in India built specifically for Meta. The deal marks a new chapter in a partnership that started with Meta’s $5.7 billion investment in Jio Platforms back in 2020.
Reliance will build and deliver the facility within two years, with an option to scale beyond the first phase. Meta will lease the capacity and cover the full cost of energy and water required to run the site. The facility will be powered by renewable energy and cooled using desalinated seawater — a first for a hyperscale campus in India at this scale.
This is part of a wider push by Meta to build out AI infrastructure globally. The company’s 2026 capital expenditure guidance stands at $125–145 billion, roughly double its 2025 spend of $72.2 billion — driven by the accelerating demand for compute capacity to train and run AI models at scale.
What the Meta–Reliance Deal Actually Covers
Select a tab to explore each dimension of the deal — from the facility specs to the clean energy stack and the context behind India’s data center surge.
Facility
168 MWLocated in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Reliance’s broader Jamnagar campus is one of the largest data center campuses under development globally. Phase 1 delivers 168 MW, with a contractual option to expand.
Structure
LeaseMeta leases capacity from Reliance. Reliance builds and operates the facility. Meta covers all energy and water costs. Delivery timeline: within two years from announcement.
Cooling
DesalinatedThe Jamnagar facility uses desalinated seawater for cooling — reducing pressure on local freshwater resources and suited to the coastal industrial site where Reliance operates its refinery complex.
Connectivity
WaterworthMeta’s Project Waterworth — a 50,000 km subsea cable system connecting the US, India, Brazil, and South Africa — will serve as the intercontinental backbone for the Jamnagar campus.
We’re proud to be working with Reliance to build our first AI-enabled data center in India. This world-class facility in Jamnagar will help us scale our AI infrastructure globally while deepening our long-term investment in India’s economy.
Meta (then Facebook) made a landmark investment in Mukesh Ambani’s telecom and digital services arm, acquiring just under a 10% stake. The deal was the largest single foreign investment in India’s digital sector at the time and focused on connectivity infrastructure and small business growth.
The two companies extended their collaboration through a joint venture that made Meta’s open-source AI models — including the Llama family — available to Indian enterprises and developers. This was the software and commercial layer of the partnership.
Meta announced the 50,000 km subsea cable system that will connect the US, India, Brazil, and South Africa. With 24 fiber pairs — the highest capacity in the industry — it is designed to be the physical connectivity backbone for Meta’s AI infrastructure across these markets.
Meta and Reliance announced the 168 MW data center agreement — adding the physical compute layer to the connectivity and software layers already in place. This is Meta’s first AI-enabled data center in India, built to order by Reliance at Jamnagar.
This partnership with Meta marks a transformative moment for India’s digital infrastructure. Building India’s first built-to-suit AI data centre for a global technology leader of Meta’s scale demonstrates India’s readiness to be at the forefront of the global AI revolution.
CleanMax — Solar & Wind
837 MWSolar and wind projects across Rajasthan and Karnataka. This brings Meta’s total announced capacity with CleanMax to over 900 MW in India.
Fourth Partner Energy
88 MWSolar and wind projects across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh — spread across northern and southern states.
Together with Reliance’s renewable supply for the Jamnagar site itself, these contracts support Meta’s stated goal of matching 100% of its global operations with clean energy. The chart below shows the breakdown of the nearly 1 GW clean energy commitment.
$400 Billion Already Flowing In
Over $400 billion has moved into India’s AI ecosystem over the past year, according to CNBC, with the bulk directed at data centers and power infrastructure. Global AI infrastructure investment is accelerating across geographies, and India is one of the primary destinations.
7 GW Data Center Capacity Target by 2030
India’s data center capacity is expected to reach 7 GW by 2030, according to a Nomura report from June 2, 2026. The country remains cost-efficient relative to developed Asia Pacific and Western markets — a key factor for hyperscaler investment decisions.
20-Year Tax Exemption for Hyperscalers
Earlier in 2026, the Indian government announced a 20-year tax exemption for hyperscalers that use data centers in India to service global clients — directly incentivizing deals of this kind.
One of Meta’s Largest User Bases
India is among Meta’s largest and fastest-growing markets across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Running AI inference locally — rather than routing requests through overseas data centers — reduces latency and supports compliance with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act.
Western Grids Under Strain
US and European power grids are straining under AI data center load, with utilities planning over $1.4 trillion in spending. India’s power capacity is expanding, and Jamnagar specifically offers access to the energy resources, land, and desalinated water Reliance already operates at scale. See also: how Big Tech is doubling down on AI infrastructure globally.
Where the Infrastructure Is Being Built
The map shows the key locations in Meta’s India infrastructure play — the Jamnagar data center site, the clean energy project states, and Project Waterworth’s India landing region.
From Telecom to Compute: Six Years of Meta’s India Bet
The Jamnagar data center agreement was covered here as the third and most infrastructure-intensive step in the Meta–Reliance partnership — following the 2020 Jio investment and the 2025 joint venture for AI model deployment. The deal was accompanied by nearly 1 GW of new clean energy contracts across six Indian states, through CleanMax and Fourth Partner Energy.
India’s data center sector, the associated clean energy deals, and the policy context — including the 20-year tax exemption announced earlier in 2026 — were discussed as part of the wider $400 billion AI infrastructure wave currently directed at the country. Reliance’s broader Jamnagar campus, which is being developed as one of the largest data center sites globally, was also discussed as the physical setting for the facility.
For ongoing coverage of AI infrastructure and tech policy, see our pieces on Apple’s latest platform updates and Anthropic’s AI model developments. The official Meta announcement is available at about.fb.com. Reliance’s statement was also shared via Forbes MENA.
