Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Group is making waves with its plans to build what may become the world's largest data center by capacity in Jamnagar, India. The facility, expected to reach three gigawatts, would dwarf today's largest data centers, which are under one gigawatt each (or will just barely exceed one gigawatt once fully operational, as in the case of the Sines data center in Europe).

Reliance isn't alone in its bid to drastically expand AI infrastructure – companies around the world are racing to meet surging demand in this sector. Tech giants like Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon are investing billions of dollars into data centers to expand their AI capabilities.

The Stargate Project is another entity endeavoring to boost AI infrastructure in the United States. OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle all recently pledged to invest $100 billion to $500 billion as part of the Stargate effort.

So what makes Reliance interesting? The company has some big ambitions...

Reliance's AI Strategy

Ambani, the 67-year-old billionaire chairman and managing director of Reliance Group, hopes to offer AI inference to businesses and developers at significantly lower costs than competitors. In order to achieve this goal, Reliance is investing heavily in NVIDIA's AI semiconductors.

Undercutting prices isn't a new approach for Ambani; his aggressive pricing in other industries, like telecommunications, disrupted the market and forced competitors to adapt. It's not unreasonable to think that Reliance could do the same in the AI industry.

"By leveraging our expertise in infrastructure, networking, operations, software, and data and by collaborating with our global partners, our goal is to create the world's lowest AI inferencing cost, right here in India," Ambani said last year. "This will make AI applications in India more affordable than anywhere else, making AI accessible to all."

Strengthening India's AI Infrastructure

One of Reliance's main objectives with this massive data center is to reduce India's reliance on overseas AI infrastructure. As AI adoption accelerates across the country, driven by a booming startup ecosystem and increasing enterprise demand, the need for localized AI compute power is greater than ever.

Currently, India's total data center capacity is under one gigawatt. If completed as planned, the Jamnagar facility alone could triple that amount by 2027. Reliance also reportedly aims to power the new data center as much as possible with renewable energy – aligning with global sustainability trends and potentially positioning India as a more self-sufficient AI hub.

Beyond meeting domestic demand, this expansion raises questions about India's role in the global AI race. With governments and tech giants worldwide investing heavily in AI infrastructure, Reliance's project reflects India's potential to compete on the world stage as a provider of AI compute power.

What's Next for AI Infrastructure?

Reliance's plan for the facility in Jamnagar is just one of many data center projects in the works today. According to McKinsey & Co, global data center capacity could more than triple by 2030, reaching an estimated 219 gigawatts annually. Yet even with heavy investment, a significant shortfall will likely remain. The U.S. alone is projected to face a 15-gigawatt gap by 2030, requiring twice the data center capacity that's been built since 2000.

If Reliance successfully builds its three-gigawatt facility, it could help address some of this global demand. However, ensuring that infrastructure keeps pace with AI's rapid advancement will remain a challenge worldwide.

In the meantime, access to high-performance compute remains a priority for developers, researchers, and businesses. While tech giants build massive facilities, cloud GPU rental is an option that provides immediate, scalable access to AI compute without the need for expensive hardware or infrastructure investments.

If you're looking for flexible and cost-effective AI compute, Vast.ai offers on-demand cloud GPU rental. We invite you to explore our platform and get the AI compute you need – and start scaling your workloads today!