OpenAI partners with Tata for 100MW AI data center capacity in India

OpenAI secures massive India capacity

OpenAI has partnered with the Tata Group to secure 100 megawatts of AI-ready data center capacity in India. The deal includes a roadmap to scale that capacity to 1 gigawatt as the company expands its infrastructure footprint in the region.

The agreement makes OpenAI the first anchor customer for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and its HyperVault data center business. This move ensures OpenAI has the necessary compute power to serve its rapidly growing user base in the country.

India represents one of OpenAI’s most critical growth markets. CEO Sam Altman recently confirmed the country has more than 100 million weekly ChatGPT users, including students, developers, and entrepreneurs.

The 100-megawatt commitment is a substantial starting point for AI infrastructure. These facilities require massive amounts of power to run the graphics processing units (GPUs) necessary for training and running large language models.

Scaling to 1 gigawatt would place the Tata facility among the largest AI-specific data centers on the planet. This long-term ambition suggests OpenAI expects India to become a primary hub for its global operations.

Stargate expands to South Asia

OpenAI is folding this partnership into its broader Stargate project. This initiative aims to build out specialized AI infrastructure globally to support the next generation of massive models.

The partnership falls under the OpenAI for India initiative. This program focuses on deepening the company’s ties with local enterprises and government bodies to integrate AI into the national economy.

Financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed. It is currently unclear if OpenAI is making a direct capital investment in HyperVault or if it is strictly leasing the capacity from the Tata Group.

The HyperVault business itself is backed by a $2 billion investment from private equity firm TPG. That funding, secured in November 2025, was specifically intended to build high-density compute environments for hyperscale clients like OpenAI.

By securing dedicated capacity, OpenAI avoids the bottleneck of competing for shared cloud resources. This dedicated hardware allows for more consistent performance for ChatGPT and API customers across the subcontinent.

Tata leads enterprise AI rollout

The deal extends beyond hardware to include a massive software deployment. The Tata Group will roll out ChatGPT Enterprise to its global workforce over the next several years.

TCS will lead the rollout, beginning with hundreds of thousands of its own employees. This deployment will be one of the largest enterprise AI implementations ever recorded in the private sector.

Engineering teams within the Tata Group will also standardize their workflows using Codex. OpenAI’s specialized model for code generation will help the conglomerate transition to an AI-native software development process.

N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, stated the partnership will help build state-of-the-art infrastructure while skilling the workforce. The goal is to prepare India’s massive labor pool for the shift toward AI-driven industries.

OpenAI is also expanding its professional certification programs to support this transition. TCS is the first organization outside the United States to participate in these official certification tracks.

Local data centers solve regulation

Hosting compute resources within India allows OpenAI to run its most advanced models locally. This proximity significantly reduces latency for Indian users and businesses using the API.

Domestic hosting is a requirement for many regulated sectors in India. Finance, healthcare, and government agencies often operate under strict data localization rules that prevent sensitive information from leaving the country.

By processing data locally, OpenAI can more easily clear compliance hurdles. This opens the door for the company to secure contracts with major Indian banks and public sector undertakings that were previously off-limits.

The move aligns with India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. Having physical infrastructure in Mumbai or Bengaluru helps ensure that OpenAI stays ahead of evolving local privacy regulations.

OpenAI is also expanding its physical presence to support these efforts. The company plans to open new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru later this year, adding to its existing team in New Delhi.

Building a local partner ecosystem

OpenAI is already deeply embedded in the Indian tech stack through a variety of high-profile partnerships. These collaborations aim to integrate OpenAI models into consumer platforms and payment systems.

The company's current partner list includes several of India's largest tech firms:

• PhonePe and Pine Labs for financial services and payments.
• MakeMyTrip and Cars24 for consumer-facing AI assistants.
• HCLTech for global enterprise consulting services.
• JioHotstar for media and content delivery.
• CRED for premium consumer financial management.

The announcement coincided with the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. The event featured Sam Altman alongside Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, highlighting the intense competition for the Indian market.

While Google and Anthropic are also vying for dominance, OpenAI's massive infrastructure bet gives it a physical advantage. Securing 1 gigawatt of future capacity makes it difficult for competitors to catch up on local compute availability.

The push into India is a clear signal that OpenAI views the country as more than just a source of users. It is positioning India as a primary hub for AI-native engineering and large-scale infrastructure deployment.

By combining physical data centers, enterprise software deals, and professional training, OpenAI is attempting to lock in the Indian market at every level. This comprehensive strategy anchors the company’s future in one of the world’s largest internet economies.