OpenAI eyes India for $500 bn Stargate project

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has opened early discussions with Indian data centre players and Reliance Industries to explore bringing parts of its ambitious $500 billion Stargate project to India. The move underlines the country’s growing relevance in the global AI ecosystem, both as a market and as a potential infrastructure base.

According to media sources, OpenAI has initiated talks with firms including Sify Technologies, Yotta Data Services, E2E Networks and CtrlS Datacenters. These conversations are said to be focused on energy availability, scalability and location viability — critical factors for gigawatt-scale data facilities required to train next-generation AI models.

Parallel negotiations have been underway for more than six months with Reliance Industries, which is building a massive data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, alongside its new energy complex. The scale of this project makes it a strong candidate for hosting OpenAI’s high-performance computing needs.

Stargate, launched in January 2024 as a $500-billion joint venture backed by SoftBank, Microsoft, Oracle and other tech giants, aims to build hyperscale data centres powered by advanced chips and sustainable energy. Designed to support hundreds of thousands of GPUs, these facilities will secure OpenAI’s long-term computing capacity.

For India, hosting part of Stargate would not only strengthen digital sovereignty but also attract billions in investment while accelerating the country’s push to become a global AI hub. However, challenges persist, including power supply stability, chip availability and cooling infrastructure.

Sam Altman is expected to visit India later this month, potentially revealing more details about the scale of OpenAI’s commitment. If realised, this move could firmly place India on the world map of supercomputing infrastructure.