Reliance and Tech Giants Forge AI Backbone to Power India’s Digital Future

Reliance Industries, led by chairman Mukesh Ambani, has launched a significant initiative to establish India’s AI backbone through new partnerships with global technology giants Google and Meta . At the company’s 48th annual general meeting, Ambani announced the creation of a fully owned subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence, aimed at developing a national-scale AI infrastructure. The venture seeks to provide enterprise AI tools and services across sectors such as energy, retail, telecommunications, and financial services. Ambani emphasized the importance of combining research with engineering to drive innovation, stating that the initiative will offer solutions both domestically and globally.

Under the agreement with Google, Reliance will build a dedicated AI cloud infrastructure in India, starting with a major data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The cloud region will utilize Jio’s high-speed network and clean energy assets to support large-scale AI deployments. Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted the collaboration’s potential in a video message, noting that the partnership will enable the development of mission-critical and advanced AI initiatives. Although financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed, the collaboration marks a strategic move to enhance India’s AI capabilities.

Separately, Reliance has formed a joint venture with Meta to develop enterprise-ready AI solutions for India and selected international markets. The companies have committed an initial investment of $100 million, with Reliance holding a 70% stake and Meta contributing 30%. The partnership will leverage Meta’s Llama-based AI platform-as-a-service, allowing businesses to deploy customized generative AI models for various applications, including sales, customer service, and finance. The joint venture also plans to offer pre-configured AI solutions tailored to enterprise needs. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the collaboration as a “key step forward” in ensuring broader access to AI technologies.

These strategic alliances come amid growing interest from U.S. tech firms in India’s digital market. Google and Meta have previously made major investments in Reliance’s Jio Platforms, with Meta committing $5.7 billion and Google $4.5 billion in 2020. The new partnerships underscore a broader trend of international technology firms deepening their presence in India as the country’s digital economy expands. Ambani also announced that Reliance Jio, India’s largest mobile network operator, is expected to file for an initial public offering in the first half of 2026, following repeated delays.

Reliance’s AI push extends beyond enterprise solutions, with the company already offering consumer-focused AI tools such as JioAICloud, a cloud storage service with 40 million users. The company has also integrated AI into its streaming platform, JioHotstar, and is developing AI-powered smart glasses, JioFrames, to compete with products from Snap and Ray-Ban Meta. These innovations reflect Reliance’s broader ambition to lead India’s digital transformation and position itself as a global player in the AI space.