Reliance Industries shares rally on AI data centre deal with Meta; what it means for the company and India

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) rallied as much as 2.46% to ₹1,300.5 apiece on the NSE in the early trade on Wednesday, June 10, as Facebook-parent Meta announced that it has tied up with Mukesh Ambani’s RIL for an AI-enabled data centre in India.

Reliance will build a data centre with 168 MW capacity in Jamnagar, Gujarat, which Meta will lease, with options to scale.

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Meta, said that the facility, located in Jamnagar, Gujarat, reaffirms Meta’s deep commitment to India, bringing infrastructure that powers its products and AI capabilities needed to deliver “personal superintelligence” to one of its largest and fastest-growing communities globally.

Meanwhile, RIL, in its press release on Wednesday, also announced the partnership with Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”) for a data centre project in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

The press release said that this is the first built-to-suit data centre capacity in India for Meta and represents a significant milestone in India’s emergence as a global hub for AI infrastructure.

“Meta will lease capacity from the facility, marking a significant milestone in Meta’s global infrastructure expansion and deepening the long-standing strategic partnership with Reliance — one that spans connectivity, commerce, and AI innovation in one of the world’s most dynamic digital markets,” RIL said.

The data centre will serve Meta’s global infrastructure, supporting its core business and AI compute needs, underscoring India’s growing role in the worldwide digital and AI ecosystem, the press release added.

Details of the agreement

Under the agreement, RIL will provide comprehensive end-to-end services spanning the entire lifecycle of the data centre – from design and construction to the ongoing management of utilities, renewable power supply, network connectivity, and fully managed operational services.

“This positions RIL as a single-window solutions provider for hyperscale AI infrastructure in India,” RIL said.

The press release added that the strategic location in Gujarat offers significant advantages for large-scale data centre operations, including delivery capability, renewable energy, water availability, proximity to India’s western submarine cable landing stations, and Jio’s extensive fibre network. The data centre will be powered by renewable energy and cooled with desalinated seawater, demonstrating both RIL’s and Meta’s commitment to sustainability.

“This partnership is aligned with the Government of India’s priorities, which designate data centres as strategic national infrastructure and introduce a long-term policy framework to attract global AI infrastructure investment into India,” RIL said.

What Mukesh Ambani said

“This partnership with Meta marks a transformative moment for India’s digital infrastructure. Building India’s first built-to-suit 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," said Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries.

“At Reliance, we are committed to building world-class digital infrastructure that will power the next generation of AI innovation – not just for India, but for the world. Jamnagar will become a landmark destination for hyperscale AI computing, and we are proud to partner with Meta to make this vision a reality,” Ambani added.

What does this mean for RIL as well as India?

Harshal Dasani, the business head of INVasset PMS, said that for Reliance, this partnership is important because it moves the company deeper into long-cycle digital infrastructure, not just consumer internet.

"A 168 MW built-to-suit AI data centre for Meta in Jamnagar gives RIL an anchor tenant of global scale, contracted demand, and a clearer route to monetise its energy, connectivity, and land ecosystem together. This is not a pure technology bet. Reliance is using its strengths in power, project execution, telecom reach, and balance-sheet scale to build AI infrastructure as a real asset business," the expert added.

For India, the signal is larger than Reliance, Dasani added.

Global AI infrastructure is now looking at India not only as a user market but also as a compute and data centre location. That matters because AI capability will increasingly depend on cheap power, connectivity, cooling, land, and policy stability.

"The caution is that data centres are capital-intensive and energy-heavy. India must ensure grid readiness, local hardware supply chains, and regulatory clarity. If executed well, the strategy can move India from digital consumption to digital infrastructure ownership," the expert added.