OpenAI in talks with data firms to bring $500 bn Stargate project to India

OpenAI has begun talks with Indian data centre firms to bring its $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure project to India, eyeing gigawatt-scale capacity

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OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has reportedly begun preliminary discussions with Indian data centre companies and Reliance Industries as it explores bringing parts of its $500 billion global artificial intelligence infrastructure project, Stargate, to India.

 

According to a report by The Economic Times, OpenAI has held talks with firms including Sify Technologies, Yotta Data Services, E2E Networks and CtrlS Datacenters. The conversations have reportedly centred on capacity, energy availability, and location, which are critical factors for large-scale AI computing.

 

The Sam Altman-led company has also been in parallel discussions with Reliance Industries for more than six months, the report said. Reliance is building what it claims will be the world’s largest data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat, alongside a massive new energy complex. This would be needed as OpenAI aims to have a capacity of at least 1 gigawatt, as earlier reported by Business Standard.

 

What is Stargate?

Stargate is OpenAI’s ambitious $500-billion joint venture, announced in January 2024, to build the next generation of AI infrastructure. Backed by SoftBank, Oracle, Microsoft and other technology partners, it aims to create hyperscale data centres equipped with advanced chips and energy systems to support model training and inference at an unprecedented scale.

 

The project is designed to ensure long-term computing power for OpenAI and its partners, with investments spread over four years. Stargate facilities are expected to house hundreds of thousands of GPUs and will require an uninterrupted gigawatt-scale power supply.

 

OpenAI in India

India is OpenAI’s second-largest market by user base after the US, and could soon become its biggest. The company has registered a legal entity in India, plans to open an office in New Delhi later this year, and is ramping up local hiring.

 

Altman has called India “incredibly fast growing” and said OpenAI is focusing on making its products more affordable and effective for local users.

 

However, challenges remain as India currently accounts for less than 1 per cent of global AI computing capacity. Building facilities at the scale OpenAI requires would mean securing vast numbers of advanced chips, an uninterrupted power supply, and new cooling technologies.

 

Sam Altman is expected to visit India this month, during which more details of OpenAI's expansion plans may become clearer.