Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, arrives to pay his last respect to Indian industrialist Ratan Tata at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) ahead of its cremation in Mumbai on October 10, 2024.
Punit Paranjpepunit Paranjpe | AFP | Getty Images
Reliance Industries, the Indian conglomerate helmed by Mukesh Ambani, is doubling down on artificial intelligence, unveiling fresh partnerships with tech titans Google and Meta. The announcement, made Friday at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting, signals a significant acceleration of Reliance’s AI ambitions.
Ambani, during the shareholder address, also outlined plans for a potential public listing of Reliance Jio, India’s leading mobile network, targeting the first half of 2026. A Jio IPO has been hotly anticipated by investors for years.
“A decade ago, digital services became a new growth engine for Reliance — the opportunity before us with AI is just as large, if not larger,” stated Ambani, introducing a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence. The move highlights the company’s dedicated focus on capturing the burgeoning AI market opportunity.
In a pre-recorded message featured at the AGM, Google CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed Google’s commitment. Pichai indicated Reliance will leverage Google’s AI prowess and cloud computing infrastructure to drive innovation across key sectors, including energy, retail, telecommunications, and financial services. The collaboration aims to unlock new efficiencies and create innovative solutions tailored for the Indian market.
A key aspect of the Google partnership includes the establishment of a dedicated cloud region within India. This infrastructure will be powered by clean energy sources provided by Reliance Industries and seamlessly integrated through Jio’s extensive network – a strategic move toward sustainable and robust digital infrastructure.
In a separate, equally significant move, Reliance Industries announced a joint venture with Meta, with a focus on leveraging Meta’s open-source AI models to deliver “sovereign, enterprise-ready AI for India.” This initiative aims to empower Indian businesses with AI solutions tailored to local needs and regulatory requirements.
The joint venture is being launched with an initial investment of $100 million, with Reliance Industries contributing 70% and Meta providing the remaining 30%, according to a joint statement released on Friday outlining the financial commitment.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg lauded the partnership, stating it represents “a key step forward towards ensuring that everyone has access to AI and eventually super intelligence.” The collaboration underscores the growing importance of democratizing access to advanced AI technologies.
These partnerships highlight a concerted effort by U.S. tech giants to deepen their engagement with India, capitalizing on the nation’s robust economic growth trajectory and rapidly expanding digital landscape. This isn’t the first foray into Reliance for either Google or Meta.
Notably, in 2020, Meta invested $5.7 billion into Jio Platforms, the parent entity of Reliance Jio, demonstrating early confidence in the company’s potential. Concurrently, Google also committed $4.5 billion to Jio Platforms in the same year, solidifying the collective interest in India’s digital future.
Jio Platforms’ portfolio boasts a number of prominent brands, headlined by the telecom powerhouse Reliance Jio. Driven by aggressive pricing strategies and rapid infrastructure development, Reliance Jio has experienced explosive growth over the past decade, disrupting the Indian telecom market.
Reliance’s deepened alliances with Google and Meta occur amidst a complex backdrop of U.S.-India relations.
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