India’s Artificial Intelligence push: Reliance Industries to build the world’s largest data center in Jamnagar
Reliance sector is developing the world’s largest data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat, marking an important step in its entry into India’s artificial intelligence sector. The company has procured AI semiconductors from Nvidia to power this project following a collaboration announcement at the October 2024 Nvidia AI Summit. Nvidia will deliver its advanced Blackwell AI processors for the planned one-gigawatt data center. Mr. Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, & Mr. Mukesh Ambani, chairman, & managing director of Reliance Industries, center on India’s future to drive AI development locally. Mr. Mukesh Ambani cited the country’s strong digital infrastructure as a main important advantage.
This partnership builds on Reliance Industries’ efforts to develop AI supercomputers & large language models (LLMs) suited to India’s diverse languages. India’s government has pledged over Rs. 10,000 crore (US$ 1.16 billion) to foster AI startups and projects. However, challenges remain, such as the nascent semiconductor industry. Despite this, the collaboration between Reliance Industries, Nvidia, & Tata Group signals India’s determination to become a global leader in AI, depending on the foundation for its future growth in the sector.
Government Investment
India’s government recently said it would invest nearly $1.2 billion to help finance AI projects & companies working in the sector. Several large data center projects already are underway in India. CtrlS, a cloud computing company based in India, is behind a facility in Ahmedabad, in Gujarat state. The government of Telangana state said it is working with Ursa Clusters, the data center division of investment manager Blackstone, and Tillman Global Holdings a New York-based investment group to build several data centers.
Ursa Clusters was among companies announcing data center plans for India at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The company said it has approved a note of understanding with the Telangana government for a 100-MW data center in Hyderabad. Blackstone, which recently agreed to buy a natural gas-fired power plant in Virginia to support data center energy demand, said it would build a 150-MW facility in Hyderabad, and Tillman Global Holdings announced a 300-MW data center, also in Hyderabad. This area is a focus of India’s data center industry. Other companies with facilities in the region include Microsoft and Iron Mountain. AWS has a cloud operation in Hyderabad and also has announced plans for more data centers in the city.
India Energy Group Plans ‘World’s Largest’ Data Center
India’s government is pledging billions in financial support for the country’s ambitions around artificial intelligence (AI), & a Mumbai-headquartered energy group has said it plans to build what it calls the “world’s largest” data center in Jamnagar.
Reliance Industries, led by Mukesh Ambani, a billionaire and the company’s chairman, already partners with California-based technology group Nvidia. The companies last year said they would collaborate to develop AI supercomputers in India. They plan to mainly build an AI network in the country, & Nvidia last year said it would give its Blackwell AI processors for a reported 3-GW data center that would be built by Reliance.
Ambani, discussing plans for a data center buildout in India, has said his country “can use intelligence to bring prosperity to all the people & bring equality to the world. Apart from the U.S. and China, India has the best digital connectivity infrastructure.”
Reliance and Nvidia’s growing partnership
In September 2024, Reliance Industries & Nvidia partnered to develop AI supercomputers & large language models (LLMs) tailored to India’s diverse languages. This collaboration underscores Reliance’s purpose to use AI for India’s unique needs. Nvidia later announced a main partnership with the Tata Group, reflecting its commitment to India’s AI-driven development. India’s AI aspirations
The Indian government has committed over Rs 10,000 crore to fund startups, AI projects, & LLM development as part of its AI ambitions. challenges persist. The nation’s semiconductor industry remains in its infancy, with no domestic chip production facilities to date. Using semiconductor fabrication plants is a capital-intensive & time-consuming process requiring a highly specialized workforce, which India is still developing.
