Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest individual in India and head of Reliance Industries, has introduced an ambitious initiative to establish the nation’s AI infrastructure through a newly formed subsidiary, beginning with strategic collaborations with Google Cloud and Meta.
During the 48th annual general meeting held on Friday, Ambani announced the launch of a new endeavor named Reliance Intelligence, which operates as a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. This initiative seeks to develop a nationwide AI framework that includes enterprise tools and services across various sectors. This initiative arises as India aims to bridge the gap in the global AI race, which has long been led by the U.S. and China.
“Reliance Intelligence will create a home for world-class researchers, engineers, designers, and product builders, combining the speed of research with the rigor of engineering, “so that ideas become innovations and applications, providing solutions to India and the world.”
To initiate this effort, Reliance has teamed up with Google, a key technology partner, to create a specialized AI cloud infrastructure in India. The initial phase will include a significant data center in Jamnagar, a city located in the western state of Gujarat.
This dedicated cloud region will empower Reliance to provide AI-oriented services to businesses of all sizes, developers, and governmental entities, leveraging Jio’s network along with its own energy resources to facilitate large-scale implementation, as stated in the joint announcement from the companies.
“As Reliance’s largest public cloud partner, Google Cloud is not only powering the company’s mission-critical workloads, but we are also innovating with you on advanced AI initiatives,” remarked Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a video message during the virtual AGM of the company. “This is only the beginning.”
Google has not yet replied to an inquiry regarding the financial details of the collaboration.
Reliance has announced a collaboration with Meta, another significant investor in the tech field, to develop and implement enterprise AI solutions for clients in India and select global markets. As part of the deal, Reliance and Meta are making a joint investment of ₹8.55 billion (around $100 million) with a 70:30 ownership distribution, respectively.
This partnership will provide Meta’s Llama-based enterprise AI platform-as-a-service, enabling businesses to tailor, launch, and oversee generative AI models for various applications including sales, marketing, IT, customer support, and finance. Additionally, the joint venture will offer a range of pre-configured AI solutions, according to the companies.
Reliance’s partnership comes shortly after Meta reorganized its AI divisions into a new Superintelligence Labs, driven by a costly round of top-tier AI recruitment. (Reports indicate that Meta has paused its hiring due to shareholder concerns.)
“Through this joint venture, we’re putting Meta’s Llama models into real-world use,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a prepared statement.
The deal must undergo standard regulatory approvals and is anticipated to finalize in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Reliance plans to broaden its reach beyond India, with intentions to take its flagship subsidiary, Reliance Jio Platforms, into international markets, Ambani stated. He also mentioned that Jio is aiming to submit paperwork for an initial public offering in the first half of 2026, following significant anticipation and prior delays.
Reports indicate that Reliance is also looking to form a partnership with OpenAI, which recently launched its sub-$5 ChatGPT subscription in India and announced plans to establish an office in New Delhi later this year. Details of this partnership are expected to be revealed during Sam Altman’s forthcoming visit to India next month, according to two sources familiar with the situation, as reported by TechCrunch.
Neither Reliance nor OpenAI responded immediately to requests for comments.
Earlier in the year, Bharti Airtel, the country’s second-largest telecom provider after Jio, teamed up with Perplexity to provide over 360 million Airtel subscribers access to Perplexity Pro for a year.
Reliance has already collaborated with Microsoft to deliver its Azure cloud platform to Indian businesses. The company also launched JioAICloud, a consumer-oriented service offering 100GB of free storage. This consumer cloud service has attracted 40 million users and includes updates like voice search capability and an AI Create Hub for transforming photos into AI-generated reels, collages, and promotional videos, as announced at its annual general meeting.
Reliance also revealed its AI-driven smart eyewear, JioFrames, as a competitor to Snap’s Spectacles and Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Concurrently, the company is incorporating AI features into its streaming service, JioHotstar, which has managed to draw in over 600 million users and 300 million paying subscribers within three months since its debut in February.
The newly added AI functionalities include the “Riya” voice assistant and AI-driven content translation into Indian languages utilizing AI voice cloning and lip-sync technology.
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