Billionaire Ambani taps Google, Meta to build India’s AI backbone

Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man and chairman of Reliance Industries, has unveiled an bold plan to construct the nation’s AI spine via a brand new subsidiary — beginning with strategic partnerships with Google Cloud and Meta.

On the firm’s forty eighth annual common assembly on Friday, Ambani launched a brand new enterprise known as Reliance Intelligence, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. The brand new enterprise goals to create a national-scale AI infrastructure, together with enterprise instruments and providers for quite a lot of sectors. The transfer comes as India seems to be to catch up within the international AI race lengthy dominated by the U.S. and China.

“Reliance Intelligence will create a house for world-class researchers, engineers, designers, and product builders, combining the pace of analysis with the rigor of engineering,” Ambani stated in his keynote, “in order that concepts turn into improvements and functions, offering options to India and the world.”

To kick issues off, Reliance has partnered with Google — one in every of its main tech companions — to construct a devoted AI cloud infrastructure in India. The community will begin with a serious knowledge heart in Jamnagar, a metropolis within the western state of Gujarat.

The devoted cloud area will allow Reliance to supply AI-focused providers to companies of all sizes, builders, and authorities our bodies, using Jio’s community and its personal power property to assist large-scale deployments, the businesses stated of their joint assertion.

“As Reliance’s largest public cloud companion, Google Cloud shouldn’t be solely powering the corporate’s mission-critical workloads, however we’re additionally innovating with you on superior AI initiatives,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated in a video message in the course of the firm’s digital AGM. “That is solely the start.”

Google didn’t instantly reply to a question concerning the monetary phrases of the partnership.

Reliance has additionally introduced a three way partnership with Meta, one other of its main tech traders, to construct and scale enterprise AI options for purchasers in India and choose worldwide markets. Beneath the settlement, Reliance and Meta have dedicated a mixed funding of ₹8.55 billion (roughly $100 million) beneath a 70:30 possession break up, respectively.

The partnership will provide Meta’s Llama-based enterprise AI platform-as-a-service, permitting companies to customise, deploy, and handle generative AI fashions to be used instances throughout gross sales, advertising and marketing, IT, customer support, and finance. The three way partnership may also present a set of pre-configured AI options, the businesses stated.

Reliance’s collaboration comes simply weeks after Meta restructured its AI ventures into a brand new Superintelligence Labs, fueled by an costly string of prime AI hires. (Meta has reportedly pausing the hiring spree after concern from shareholders.)

“By this three way partnership, we’re placing Meta’s Llama fashions into real-world use,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated in a ready assertion.

The transaction is topic to customary regulatory approvals and is predicted to shut within the fourth quarter of 2025.

Reliance is planning to increase past India and take its flagship subsidiary, Reliance Jio Platforms to worldwide markets, Ambani stated. Ambani additionally revealed that Jio goals to file for an preliminary public providing within the first half of 2026, following a lot anticipation and preliminary delays.

Reliance can be reportedly eyeing a partnership with OpenAI, which not too long ago launched its sub-$5 ChatGPT subscription in India and introduced its plans to arrange an workplace in New Delhi later this 12 months. The small print of the partnership are prone to be introduced throughout Sam Altman’s upcoming go to to India subsequent month, two folks accustomed to the matter advised Trendster.

Reliance and OpenAI didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Earlier this 12 months, Reliance’s arch-rival Bharti Airtel, the nation’s second-largest telco after Jio, partnered with Perplexity to supply greater than 360 million Airtel subscribers entry to Perplexity Professional for 12 months.

Reliance has already partnered with Microsoft to supply its Azure cloud platform to Indian enterprises. The corporate additionally gives JioAICloud, a consumer-focused service that gives 100GB of free storage. The buyer cloud service has been utilized by 40 million customers and is up to date with voice search assist and an AI Create Hub to show pictures into AI-powered reels, collages, and promo movies, the corporate introduced at its annual common assembly.

Reliance additionally showcased its AI-based sensible glasses, JioFrames, as its reply to Snap’s Spectacles and Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Equally, the corporate is integrating AI into its streaming platform, JioHotstar, which has attracted over 600 million customers and 300 million paying subscribers within the three months since its launch in February.

The brand new AI options embody “Riya” voice assistant and content material translation into Indian languages utilizing AI-voice cloning and lip-syncing tech.