Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, is preparing to launch what could become the world’s largest data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

This massive facility, with a capacity of three gigawatts, will significantly outpace existing global benchmarks. The largest operational data centres today, primarily in the United States, have capacities under one gigawatt.

To support the development of this cutting-edge facility, Reliance is procuring advanced AI chips from Nvidia Corporation. These high-performance semiconductors are essential for running AI-driven tools, such as ChatGPT and other generative AI systems, which have seen an explosive rise in demand.

Mukesh Ambani’s move comes as global tech giants, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, have made significant investments to expand their data centre capacities. Earlier this week, a consortium that includes OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle announced plans to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure under the Stargate project.

This indicates that AI-related demand is growing rapidly worldwide. Ambani’s data centre is a strategic attempt to capitalize on this trend. If Ambani’s plans go ahead as expected, the Jamnagar facility would triple India's current data centre capacity, giving India a competitive advantage in the global AI market.

At present, India’s data centre capacity, much like the United States, is below one gigawatt. This data centre would be a major milestone in accelerating India’s AI development and meeting the growing demand for AI infrastructure.

The project’s estimated cost is between $20 billion and $30 billion. This significant investment reflects the scale and ambition of the initiative. Although Reliance Industries has about $26 billion in cash reserves, experts note that funding such a large-scale project would still be a considerable challenge.

Reliance has not yet commented on the project’s details. Ambani's approach mirrors his past success in the telecom sector, where Reliance Jio disrupted the market by offering affordable services.

This time, his goal is to reduce the high cost of AI inferencing, the computational process behind running AI models. By doing so, he aims to make AI more affordable for both startups and established companies in India.

The Jamnagar site, already home to Reliance’s oil refining and petrochemical operations, will now become a hub for both renewable energy and AI infrastructure. The data centre is set to be powered mainly by green energy from nearby solar, wind, and hydrogen projects.

However, experts caution that ensuring a steady energy supply for such a massive facility may require backup solutions, such as fossil fuels or large-scale battery storage.

Ambani’s ultimate goal is clear: to make AI accessible to everyone in India. "We want to offer the lowest AI inferencing costs in the world, making AI affordable and available to all," Ambani stated last year.

PHOTO: REUTERS