NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries Limited and its digital arm, Jio, will invest 10 lakh crores over the next seven years to spearhead India’s artificial intelligence transformation, announced Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance, while addressing the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi on February 19.
“Jio, together with Reliance, will invest Rs 10 lakh crore over the next seven years starting this year. This is not a speculative investment. It is not for chasing valuation. This is a patient, disciplined, nation-building capital designed to create durable economic value and strategic resilience for decades to come,” Mukesh Ambani said.
Ambani announced a three-part strategy to transition India from the internet era to the intelligence era:
“Announcement one, Jio connected India to the internet era. Jio will now connect India to the intelligence era. We will deliver intelligence to every citizen, every sector of the economy, and every facet of social development and every service of government,” Ambani stated.
“Announcement two, Jio, together with Reliance, will invest Rs 10 lakh crore over the next seven years starting this year. Third announcement, Jio intelligence will build India’s sovereign computer infrastructure through three bold initiatives-One, gigawatt-scale data centers. We already started construction on multi-gigawatt AI-ready data centers at Jamnagar. Over 120 megawatts will come online in the second half of 2026 this year; Two, our green energy advantage. We have an in-house energy advantage with up to 10 gigawatts of ready green power surplus anchored by solar in both Kutch and Andhra Pradesh; Three, a nationwide 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,” he added.
He noted that the primary goal is to make intelligence “as ubiquitous as connectivity. Jio intelligence is guided by five non-negotiable principles
“India cannot afford to rent intelligence. Therefore, we will reduce the cost of intelligence as dramatically as we did the cost of data,” Ambani said.
Mukesh Ambani highlighted that these systems are guided by the principle of “AI for India’s deep tech and advanced manufacturing leadership,” aiming to reach the agriculture and informal sectors rather than just large enterprises.
Reflecting on India’s digital progress over the past decade, Ambani cited the nation’s position as the world’s largest mobile data consumer with nearly 1 billion internet users. He mentioned that India’s digital public infrastructure, including Aadhaar and UPI, now serves as a global template.
“India will emerge as one of the greatest AI powers in the world in the 21st century,” Ambani stated, citing the country’s strengths in demography, democracy, and data generation.
Ambani also introduced “Jio AI Bharat,” a multilingual AI capability across all Indian languages. Ambani described this as a tool for inclusion, allowing farmers, artisans, and students to interact with technology in their mother tongues.
He emphasised that Jio “will ensure that AI won’t take jobs but will create jobs and AI will create high-skilled work opportunities.” Ambani assured that the company “will partner with the best tech companies of the world.” (With inputs from ANI)
