OpenAI taps Tata for 100MW AI data center capacity in India, eyes 1GW

Source: TechCrunch

Overview

OpenAI has partnered with India’s Tata Group to secure 100 megawatts of AI‑ready data‑center capacity in the country, with plans to scale to 1 gigawatt. The move is part of a broader push to deepen the company’s enterprise and infrastructure footprint in one of its fastest‑growing markets.

Stargate project

OpenAI announced on Thursday that the partnership with the Tata Group is part of its Stargate project, which aims to build AI‑ready infrastructure and expand enterprise adoption globally.

• OpenAI will become the first customer of Tata Consultancy Services’ HyperVault data‑center business, beginning with 100 MW of capacity.
• The deal also includes deploying ChatGPT Enterprise across Tata’s workforce and standardising AI‑native software development through OpenAI’s tools.

“OpenAI for India” initiative

• Recent estimates from CEO Sam Altman indicate >100 million weekly ChatGPT users in India — spanning students, teachers, developers, and entrepreneurs.
• The scale of adoption positions India as one of OpenAI’s most important growth markets, prompting deeper enterprise and infrastructure investments.

Why local data‑center capacity matters

• Running advanced models within India reduces latency and satisfies data‑residency, security, and compliance requirements for regulated sectors and government workloads.
• Domestic compute is critical for enterprises handling sensitive data under data‑localisation and digital‑infrastructure rules, widening OpenAI’s access to enterprise customers that require in‑country processing.

Scale of the commitment

• 100 MW is a substantial commitment for AI infrastructure, where large‑scale model training and inference demand power‑hungry GPU clusters.
• Scaling to 1 GW over time would place the Tata facility among the largest AI‑focused data‑center deployments globally, underscoring OpenAI’s long‑term ambitions in India.

Strategic enterprise collaboration

• Tata plans to roll out ChatGPT Enterprise to its workforce over the coming years, starting with hundreds of thousands of employees at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)—potentially one of the largest enterprise AI deployments worldwide.
• TCS will also use OpenAI’s Codex tools to standardise AI‑native software development across its engineering teams.

N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, said the partnership would help build “state‑of‑the‑art AI infrastructure in India” while supporting efforts to skill the country’s workforce for the AI era.

Event details

Financial terms

• Not disclosed, including whether OpenAI is making a capital investment in HyperVault or leasing capacity.

Background on HyperVault

• In Nov 2025, TCS secured backing from private‑equity firm TPG to develop AI‑ready infrastructure in India under its HyperVault data‑center business.
• The platform is backed by ≈₹180 billion (≈$2 billion) in planned investment and is designed to support large‑scale compute workloads for hyperscalers and enterprise customers.

Certification programs & partnerships

• OpenAI will expand its certification programs in India, with TCS becoming the first participating organisation outside the United States.

• The certifications help professionals build practical AI skills across roles and industries.

• Recent partnerships with leading Indian institutions in engineering, medicine, and design are detailed here.

Office expansion

• OpenAI plans to open new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru later this year, adding to its existing presence in New Delhi.
• The expansion will support enterprise partnerships, developer engagement, and local regulatory coordination.

AI Impact Summit

The announcement coincides with India’s AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, featuring global AI leaders such as Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, alongside Indian startups and enterprises showcasing AI applications in finance, healthcare, education, and more.

Broader India push

OpenAI has been expanding its presence in India through partnerships with companies including:

• Pine Labs – details
• JioHotstar
• Eternal
• Cars24
• HCLTech
• PhonePe
• CRED
• MakeMyTrip

These collaborations aim to embed OpenAI’s models across consumer platforms, enterprise systems, and digital‑payments infrastructure in one of the world’s largest internet markets.

Summary

The data‑center build‑out, enterprise deployments, and expanding partner ecosystem together signal OpenAI’s most comprehensive push yet to anchor advanced AI infrastructure and applications in India.

Jagmeet covers startups, tech‑policy updates, and major tech‑centric developments from India for TechCrunch. He previously worked as a principal correspondent at NDTV.

Can contact or verify outreach from Jagmeet by emailing mail@journalistjagmeet.com.

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