Meta’s First Indian Data Center at Reliance Industries Campus: Zuckerberg-Ambani Deal

Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp’s parent company Meta can start its first data center in India at Reliance Industries’ campus in Chennai. According to media reports, Meta’s co-founder Mark Zuckerberg attended a pre-wedding function of Anant Ambani, held in Jamnagar in March. It was then that he sealed the deal with Reliance.

Facilitating Local Content Processing

The data center will assist Meta in processing content generated locally on apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. No official statement regarding this deal has been made public yet.

Reduced Costs for Global Data Centers

Through this campus, Meta can now expedite data processing across the country. Currently, Indian users’ data is stored in Meta’s data centers in Singapore. Experts believe that with local data centers, Meta can enhance user experiences, not just in content but also in local ads, reducing costs for global data centers.

Expanding into a 10-Acre Campus

Situated in Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai, the 10-acre campus is a joint venture between Brookfield Asset Management, Reliance Industries, and Digital Realty. It could potentially accommodate up to 100 megawatts (MW) of IT load capacity.

Zuckerberg’s Visit to India in March

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg attended a pre-wedding event of Mukesh Ambani’s son Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Jamnagar. The function took place between 1st and 3rd March. Many other business personalities, including Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates and Adani Group’s owner Gautam Adani, also attended the event.

What is a Data Center?

A data center is a large group of connected computer servers used by companies to store and process large amounts of data. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, banking, retail, healthcare, tourism, and other activities generate significant amounts of data, requiring data centers for storage.

Functions of Data Centers

Data centers store data, process information, and facilitate the integration of company applications. They act as servers where a company’s entire IT operations are run. In the digital age, social networking companies store all user data and information in their own data centers. These data centers can house thousands of servers.