Reliance unveils $110 billion AI investment plan to build India's computing infrastructure

Reliance unveils $110B AI investment plan as India ramps up tech ambitions | TechCrunch

Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire chairperson of Indian conglomerate Reliance, on Thursday unveiled the group's ₹10 trillion (about $110 billion) plan to build AI computing infrastructure in India over the next seven years. Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, Ambani said the investment would fund gigawatt-scale data centers, a nationwide edge computing network, and new AI services integrated with Reliance's Jio telecom platform. Reliance has already begun construction of multi-gigawatt data centers in Jamnagar, Gujarat, Ambani said, and more than 120 megawatts of capacity is expected to come online in the second half of 2026. Ambani's pledge adds to a growing wave of AI investment in India. Earlier this week, Adani Group outlined plans to invest about $100 billion to build AI data centers in the country, and the Indian government expects more than $200 billion in AI infrastructure spending over the next two years. Global technology firms are also stepping up their presence, with OpenAI partnering with the Tata Group to develop about 100 megawatts of AI capacity in the country, and plans to scale that to 1 gigawatt eventually. Ambani said the push is essential for India's technological self-reliance, saying the country "cannot afford to rent intelligence," and that Reliance aims to cut the cost of AI services as dramatically as it once reduced mobile data prices in the country. "The biggest constraint in AI today is not talent or imagination," Ambani said. "It is scarcity and high cost of compute." The build-out, Ambani said, would be supported by Reliance's green energy capacity, which stretches to 10 gigawatts of surplus power from solar projects in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Reliance will partner with Indian enterprises, startups, and academic institutions to embed AI in industries ranging from manufacturing and logistics to agriculture, healthcare and financial services. Jio has already been striking AI partnerships: it last year landed a deal with Google to offer free Gemini AI Pro access to millions of its users in India. Reliance also plans to develop AI capabilities in several Indian languages to spur adoption of the tech, Ambani said. The aggressive push highlights how India's largest conglomerates are racing to secure a foothold in what is expected to be one of the country's biggest technology opportunities.

India's top telco tackles AI with $110b and proven playbook

Reliance Jio used super-cheap plans and own-brand phones to conquer India's top telco, Reliance Jio, has announced plans to spend $110 billion on datacenters to run AI workloads and says it will use them to deliver services with the same "extreme affordability" it brought to the mobile communications market. Jio launched its mobile network in 2016 and within half a year won 100 million subscribers by offering plans that included unlimited data at prices that significantly undercut competitors. It later introduced its own handsets, some that cost around $12, which helped it to become India's number one telco three years after launch. It later cemented its position with a $27 smartphone created with help from Google, a rapid 5G rollout, and cheap subscriptions that bundle streamed content with carriage. This is not speculative investment. It is not purchasing valuation Indian authorities say the carrier now has 514 million subscribers and 51 percent of the Indian mobile comms market. India now enjoys some of the lowest mobile data costs in the world. Company chairman Mukesh Ambani yesterday announced Jio's intention to spend $110 billion on AI infrastructure over seven years. "This is not speculative investment. It is not purchasing valuation," he said in a speech at India's AI Impact Summit. "This is patient, disciplined, nation-building capital designed to create durable economic value and strategic resilience for decades to come." Ambani added his belief that "the biggest constraint in AI today is not talent or imagination. It is scarcity and high cost of compute." Jio will therefore build multiple gigawatts of datacenter capacity that Ambani said will operate with "the same reliability, quality, scale and extreme affordability that transformed connectivity." "India cannot afford to rent intelligence. Therefore, we will reduce the cost of intelligence as dramatically as we did the cost of data." Given Jio's dominance of Indian mobile telecoms, the company could well do the same for consumer AI services. That's not necessarily bad news for western AI companies because Jio also announced a partnership that will see some of its products include OpenAI's search service. OpenAI, meanwhile, announced a formal presence in India to serve the 100 million users it already has there. The company also said it will build sovereign AI capabilities for India by using datacenters operated by Tata Group, a giant industrial conglomerate that has pledged it will build 100MW of AI infrastructure for OpenAI. Tata may scale that to 1GW. India's AI summit has certainly attracted plenty of attention, with 17 national leaders attending (plus three deputy leaders). OpenAI boss Sam Altman attended. So did Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who delivered an anodyne speech. Bill Gates cancelled his appearance - reportedly to ensure his presence in the Epstein files did not distract from the event. Indian lawmakers have hailed the event as establishing the nation as an AI leader, a claim that's a little hard to support, as while the nation remains a major source of technology talent and intends widespread use of AI in government services, it lacks significant AI infrastructure and has not yet produced a major company in the field. Maybe Jio will fill that role, given its past successes. ®

Ambani's Reliance to Invest $110 Billion in AI Infrastructure

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani announced that his retail-to-telecom conglomerate will invest as much as 10 trillion rupees ($110 billion) in building artificial intelligence-related infrastructure, joining the global rush into the fastest growing arena in technology. Reliance Industries Ltd. and its telecom unit, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., will invest this sum over seven years, Ambani said at the AI Impact Summit on Thursday in New Delhi. India kicked off one of the largest AI conferences this week that has already drawn the industry heavyweights, including Alphabet's Sundar Pichai and OpenAI Inc.'s Sam Altman. The country expects to attract more than $200 billion in AI-driven investments over the next two years. Reliance's announcement follows a $100 billion AI investment pledge by Gautam Adani's conglomerate earlier this week and Tata Group's plans to partner OpenAI Inc. There could be a consolidation within the industry when some software firms fail to transform their businesses for AI adoption, ServiceNow COO Amit Zavery tells Bloomberg Television. * "There will be some software companies that will not be able to make the transformation to AI," Zavery says in interview on sidelines of India AI Summit

India's Reliance to build AI data centres in $110 billion investment push

Feb 19 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), opens new tab and telecoms arm Jio will invest $109.8 billion over the next seven years to build artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, its billionaire chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Thursday. Speaking at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Ambani said the investment would be directed toward long-term "nation-building" capital, including sovereign AI computing capacity, as a shortage and the high cost of computing power remain the biggest constraints on domestic AI development. India's first major artificial intelligence summit this week has drawn senior executives from global technology firms. Jio is constructing multi-gigawatt, AI-ready data centres at Jamnagar, and is set to have over 120 megawatts of capacity online in the second half of this year, Ambani said. The telecommunications company also plans to build AI-ready data centres powered by renewable energy, he said. Separately, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), opens new tab on Tuesday also said it will invest $100 billion to build renewable-powered AI-ready data centres by 2035. Indian companies are increasing AI investment, committing billions of dollars to data centres, computing infrastructure and related services to meet rising demand. Earlier on Thursday, U.S. AI developer OpenAI said it would become the first customer of a data centre operated by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS.NS), opens new tab. ($1 = 91.0870 Indian rupees) Reporting by Chandini Monnappa and Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christopher Cushing Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance makes Rs 10 lakh cr bold bet on India's AI prowess

At the AI India Impact Summit, Mukesh Ambani announced that Jio and Reliance Industries will invest ₹10 lakh crore over the next seven years starting 2026 to boost AI development. He said India is set to become a global AI power in the 21st century, with AI systems now able to learn, speak, analyse, move, and operate autonomously. Making a 'bold' bet on India's AI prowess, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced on Wednesday that Jio together with RIL will invest Rs 10 lakh crore in next seven years starting this year. This is not speculative investment, he said while speaking at the AI India Impact Summit. "It is not purchasing valuation. This is a patient, disciplined nation building capital, designed to create durable economic value." ALSO READ: Tata's N Chandrasekaran makes bold AI bets while Dalal Street anxiety grips TCS "India cannot afford to rent intelligence. Therefore, we will reduce the cost of intelligence as dramatically as we did the cost of data," he stated. Ambani further stated that India will emerge as one of greatest AI powers in the world in 21st century. "The best of AI is yet to come." The biggest constraint in AI today is not talent or imagination, he said. "It is scarcity and high cost of compute." "For the first time, humans are creating human-like systems that can learn, speak, analyse, move, and produce autonomously." The global summit is a defining moment for India's technology sector, a moment when India pledges to make AI a key force in realising its dream, he said, appreciating the summit. Ambani said, that he see AI as a modern-day Akshay Patra, the legendary vessel in Maharbharat that provided endless nourishment to all. The Akshaya Patra story originates from the Mahabharata, where Lord Surya gifted an inexhaustible, magical vessel to Yudhishthira to provide endless food for the Pandavas during their forest exile, ensuring no guest went hungry. "The Global AI Impact Summit is a defining moment in India's tech history. A moment when India pledges to make AI one of the driving forces to realise its dream of a Viksit Bharat. The dream of becoming a fully developed nation by 2047."

Mukesh Ambani Announces Rs. 10 Lakh Crore Investment Plan to Build India's Independent AI Ecosystem

The project will start in 2026. The capital will be used to build large data centres, expand green energy, and make AI tools more affordable. Ambani called AI a modern-day Akshay Patra. He said AI can create endless opportunities for every sector. Jio Platforms Limited will lead this mission. The company will build gigawatt-scale data centres in Jamnagar. A 120 MW data centre will go live by late 2026. These centres will run on up to 10 gigawatts of green energy from solar projects in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Clean power will support .