Mukesh Ambani pledges Rs 10 lakh Cr for AI push, vows to make AI as cheap as data
Reliance has begun constructing multi-gigawatt AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, with more than 120 megawatts expected to come online in the second half of 2026 and a roadmap toward gigawatt-scale compute capacity.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Thursday unveiled plans to invest Rs 10 lakh crore in artificial intelligence over the next seven years, marking one of the largest commitments to AI infrastructure announced in India.
Addressing the India AI Impact Summit, the Reliance Industries Ltd chairman positioned the initiative as the next phase of Jio’s digital transformation playbook — this time aimed at lowering the cost of computing power and AI access across the country.
“Jio connected India to the Internet Era. Jio will now connect India to the Intelligence Era,” Ambani said. “India cannot afford to rent intelligence. Therefore, we will reduce the cost of intelligence as dramatically as we did in the case of data.”
The investment, beginning this year, will be deployed through Jio and Reliance to build what Ambani described as sovereign AI infrastructure at scale. “Jio, together with Reliance, will invest Rs 10 lakh crore over the next seven years,” he said, adding that the capital outlay is “not speculative” but intended to create long-term economic and strategic value.
Ambani outlined a three-pronged approach to the buildout.
First, Reliance has begun constructing multi-gigawatt AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, with more than 120 megawatts expected to come online in the second half of 2026 and a roadmap toward gigawatt-scale compute capacity.
Second, the group plans to leverage up to 10 gigawatts of surplus green energy, anchored by solar capacity in Kutch and Andhra Pradesh, to power the infrastructure.
Third, Jio will develop a nationwide edge-compute layer deeply integrated with its telecom network to deliver low-latency AI services closer to where users live and work. Ambani said the objective is to make intelligence “responsive, low latency and affordable,” extending from kirana stores and classrooms to farms and clinics.
The announcement comes as global competition intensifies over access to AI computing capacity, which Ambani described as the primary bottleneck in the technology’s expansion. By building domestic infrastructure, Reliance aims to reduce dependence on overseas compute providers while expanding AI access across sectors.
Ambani framed the push as part of a broader national ambition, arguing that India’s digital public infrastructure, scale of data generation and demographic profile position it to emerge as a leading AI power in the coming decades.
The Rs 10 lakh crore commitment signals Reliance’s intent to replicate in artificial intelligence what Jio achieved in telecommunications: aggressive capital deployment to drive down prices, expand usage, and reshape market dynamics at scale.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan