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OpenAI is in “advanced talks” with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to set up large-scale computing infrastructure in India multiple people with knowledge of the matter told The Information. If completed the deal would help OpenAI establish its first sizable computing footprint in India and dramatically increase India’s ability to train and run large AI models onshore. OpenAI is in talks to lease at least 500 MW of data-centre capacity from TCS’s recently set-up data-centre division HyperVault. It would use this to train and host its large-language models (LLMs) locally in India to better serve data-residency needs of Indian customers and provide a more responsive service. For TCS the partnership would help it move faster towards its stated goal of becoming a next-generation AI-led services provider. As part of the agreement TCS would use OpenAI’s LLMs to train and deliver “agentic AI” solutions for companies in the BFSI retail consumer goods and manufacturing sectors. This could position TCS to provide AI-powered services to a broad swathe of Indian industry. Sources said that OpenAI could be the anchor tenant of HyperVault’s data-centre facilities - while the broader roadmap for the unit includes serving a wider set of customers including hyperscalers large enterprises sovereign-cloud players other Tata-group companies and government agencies. Timing of the discussions is notable as India is emerging as an important node in the global AI ecosystem hosting the largest user base of ChatGPT outside the U.S. A confluence of factors including an emphasis on data localization in the recent AI Act and similar pushes by Indian regulators has prompted several big global tech companies to make big commitments to AI and cloud infrastructure in India over the past several months. In particular: Google has committed to invest as much as $15 billion over five years to build what would be its first-ever AI hub outside the U.S. which would include a 1 GW data centre in Visakhapatnam. Microsoft said it will be investing $3 billion to expand its cloud (Azure) and AI infrastructure in India. The company also said it would train a large number of people with AI skills by 2030. AWS has announced a $12.7 billion commitment through 2030 to grow its cloud and AI infrastructure in the country. In the meantime TCS has closed a $1 billion investment for HyperVault from private-equity firm TPG Capital and is in the process of building out what could be a 1 GW-scale data-centre network in India spanning four locations. In media reports company officials have noted that while OpenAI is expected to be the anchor for the project the discussions at this point are “infrastructure-adjacent” and there are no near-term plans for an equity investment in HyperVault. Tata reportedly does not want to be too dependent on a single client and would prefer to keep its infrastructure facilities open to a wider set of customers - including other AI companies such as Anthropic. If completed which could happen as soon as the end of this year according to sources the deal would be a milestone in India’s AI story enabling local training and deployment of cutting-edge models ensuring stronger data-locality compliance and spurring enterprise adoption of generative AI products. It could also be a strategic win for TCS and OpenAI marrying global AI innovation with India’s market opportunity.