Meta, the parent company of social media giants Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is set to establish its first data centre in India. The decision comes as part of Meta’s strategy to produce local content for its platforms and enhance its presence in the Indian market. The data centre will be located at the Chennai campus of Reliance Industries, owned by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
Reports from Hindustan Times, citing Economic Times, indicate that Meta finalized the deal with Reliance after discussions during the pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in early March. The exact value of the deal remains undisclosed.
The establishment of the data centre marks Meta’s intention to operate four to five nodes across various locations in India, thereby improving data processing speed. Currently, Meta processes data from Indian users at its Singapore-based centre. However, having a centre in India is expected to enhance local advertisements, user experience, and reduce transmission costs.
Reliance Industries has collaborated with Canadian investment management company Brookfield Asset Management and real estate investment trust company Digital Realty to build the campus. The facility, spread over 10 acres in Chennai’s Ambattur Industrial Estate, will be capable of providing up to 100MW IT load capacity.
Neil Shah, a partner at technology research firm Counterpoint Research, commented on Meta’s strategy, stating, “Meta would aim for greenfield data centres across key regions including Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi NCR, which can suffice its strong infrastructure requirements from fibre to power.”
Shah further added, “While India has the largest number of users, it is still underpenetrated if you look at the installed smartphone user base which is close to 850 million. Trying to localize user-generated content and ads is a prudent strategy as it will reduce latency, enhance AI-driven recommendations, and save transmission costs from Singapore and other hubs.”
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