Jio Platforms, along with Reliance, will invest ₹10 Lakh Cr in AI over the next seven years, starting from 2026
India cannot afford to rent intelligence, therefore, Jio will reduce the cost of intelligence as it did with the cost of data, Ambani said
Jio is also building gigawatt-scale data centres, the first of which is already under construction in Gujarat’s Jamnagar
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said its technology arm Jio Platforms, along with Reliance, will invest ₹10 Lakh Cr in AI over the next seven years, starting from 2026.
Delivering a keynote address at the ‘India AI Impact Summit 2026’, Ambani also outlined Jio’s plans to make “AI available, accessible and affordable for all“, similar to what the telecom giant did with internet connectivity.
“This is not speculative investment, this is not for chasing valuation. This is patient, disciplined, nation-building capital designed to create durable economic value and strategic resilience for decades to come,” he said.
Highlighting Jio’s role in making mobile and broadband data in India one of the cheapest in the world and catalysing the digital public infrastructure and startup ecosystem in the country, Ambani said that RIL is uniquely positioned to do the same for AI. He revealed three key initiatives the conglomerate is taking to achieve this.
“Jio will now connect India to the intelligence era. We will deliver intelligence to every citizen, every sector of the economy, every facet of social development and every service of government,” he said. “India cannot afford to rent intelligence, therefore, Jio will reduce the cost of intelligence as we did the cost of data.”
Jio will also undertake three key initiatives to improve the computing power of India, including building multi-gigawatt scale data centres. The first of these is already under construction in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, which will see 120 MW capacity come online by the end of 2026.
Ambani also mentioned Jio’s green energy advantage, stating that up to 10 GW of green power is already available which is surplus anchored by solar capabilities in Andhra Pradesh and Kutch.
Jio Intelligence Heralds AI Mandate
Jio Intelligence is also expected to launch an Edge compute layer, integrated with Jio’s network, which will make intelligence “responsive, low latency and affordable and close to where Indians live, learn and work”.
The platform will be guided by five key principles, Ambani said. This includes pushing AI to position India as a deeptech and advanced manufacturing leader by reaching not just large enterprises but agriculture, small businesses and the informal sector.
“Jio Intelligence won’t be a search tool, but primarily a source for multiplying productivity and efficiency,” he said.
The platform is also expected to have multilingual AI capabilities to aid everyone from small business owners to students in leveraging and learning from the platform in their native tongues.
Ambani also said that responsibility, security, data residency and trust will act as Jio Intelligence’s core guarantees. The company will ensure that rather than AI taking away jobs, as is being feared, it will create new high-skill work opportunities.
He also highlighted RIL’s plans to advance AI by building strong ecosystem partnerships with Indian enterprises and startups along with educational and research institutes.
“We will work shoulder to shoulder with India’s leading industrial groups to embed AI across manufacturing, logistics, energy, finance, retail, agriculture and healthcare. We will empower startups with affordable compute and co-development platforms. We will aspire to produce global breakthroughs in compute architecture, foundation models and energy efficiency designed in India,” Ambani said.
Jio has already launched AI applications for “the most pressing challenges in inclusive development”, including education, healthcare, and agriculture, along with everyday life use cases like wearables to fully connected homes.
JioHotstar Brings ChatGPT To Streaming
RIL will also partner with global big tech companies, “not as importers but as co-architects of a new AI century”.
To this end, JioHostar announced a partnership with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT-powered voice discovery to the streaming platform. Through ‘multilingual cognitive search’, users will be able to explain to the platform through speech their mood or intent to receive instant streaming recommendations. Users will also be able to enhance live sports watching experience through conversational discovery of information like key moments, scores and player highlights.
The integration is expected to roll out in a phased manner across live and on-demand streaming.
“Through Jio Hotstar, AI will multiply Indian creativity with multilingual storytelling. We will popularise India’s rich cultural heritage with futuristic technology, enhancing India’s soft power globally,” Ambani said.
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