Reliance to invest ₹10 trillion in seven years to cut intelligence cost

Mukesh Ambani says the investment will build India's sovereign compute capacity, expand data centres, green power and edge infrastructure to make AI affordable and ubiquitous

In one of the largest investments to accelerate India’s artificial intelligence (AI) build-up, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said that Jio and Reliance will invest ₹10 trillion in the next seven years to reduce the cost of intelligence and build India’s sovereign compute infrastructure.

 

Ambani noted that the investment is not speculative. “It is not purchasing valuation. This is patient, disciplined, nation-building capital, designed to create durable economic value.”

 

While delivering a keynote address during the India AI Impact Summit on Thursday, Ambani — the richest Indian — said Jio will connect India to the intelligence era. “India cannot rent intelligence and we will reduce the cost of intelligence as dramatically as we did the cost of data.”

 

 

He also added that AI is yet to come and “its advent will not kill work”.

 

The group’s investment, around $110 billion (₹90.86 per US dollar) till 2031, is one of the largest investments by a private company compared to some of the commitments made by global tech giants.

 

In 2025, Google, Amazon and Microsoft announced a combined investment package of $67 billion over five years. Amazon’s total investment in India by 2030 will touch $75 billion. Similarly, Microsoft announced investment of $17.5 billion between 2026 and 2029, in addition to $3 billion earmarked for this year. Google too announced investment of $15 billion over the next five years.

 

Ambani also laid out the roadmap for these investments. First, Jio will set up gigawatt-scale data centres at Jamnagar. Ambani said that over 120 MW will come online in the second half of 2026. The aim, according to him, is to make intelligence as ubiquitous as connectivity.

 

The second initiative is green power. “Up to 10 GW of ready surplus green power anchored by solar projects in Kutch (Gujarat) and Andhra Pradesh to ensure sustainable, cost-effective energy for AI’s massive demands,” he said.

 

Three, a nationwide edge computing infrastructure. An edge-compute layer, deeply integrated with Jio’s network, will make intelligence responsive, low-latency and affordable — close to where Indians live, learn and work.

 

“From kirana stores to clinics, from classrooms to farms — intelligence will live at the edge,” he added.

 

Ambani said that the AI story has shifted from “Who has the best model” to “Who can build the strongest ecosystem for speed and scale of usage.”

 

“Therefore, we will build a deep partnership ecosystem with Indian enterprises, startups, IITs, IISc and research institutions,” he said.

 

Such initiatives, Ambani added, will help India achieve the Prime Minister’s AI-powered Vikshit Bharat.

 

“Modiji’s vision of AI-powered Vikshit Bharat is also a template for a Vikshit Global South. If used, AI can usher in an era of superabundance and prosperity for all.”

 

He also cautioned that AI has reached a crossroads where one path leads to a situation of AI being expensive, scarce, compute concentrated and inequalities widening. The other path is about AI being available, affordable and beneficial.

 

“We will partner with the very best tech companies in the world — not as importers of intelligence, but as co-architects of a new AI century,” said Ambani.