India's richest man to pour $110 billion into mega data center investment plan

India’s richest man, billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is betting on the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, unveiling plans to invest 10 trillion rupees ($110 billion) over the next seven years.

The plan focuses on building data centers and digital infrastructure across India.

The landmark plan was announced at the Indian AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Reliance Industries will lead the program, aiming to position the country as a global hub for affordable AI computing power.

Ambani said that the plan focuses on constructing gigawatt-scale, AI-ready data centers. These centers will simultaneously support the massive electricity demands of advanced computing.

Stressing the need to lower the cost of computing, he said: “India cannot afford to rent intelligence.”

He also revealed that India’s biggest challenge is not talent but the unaffordability of processing power.

As reported by Forbes, practical work has already started on the plan as Reliance’s newly formed unit, Jio Intelligence, has already begun work on multi-gigawatt data centers in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

In the second year, the first 120 megawatts of capacity will be live.

To further power the facilities, the group plans to supply up to 10 gigawatts of renewable energy from solar projects in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

Fellow billionaire Gautam Adani has also pledged $100 billion towards similar infrastructure by 2035, highlighting the role of AI in fulfilling India’s economic ambitions.