Reliance unveils $110B AI funding plan as India ramps up tech ambitions

Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire chairperson of Indian conglomerate Reliance, on Thursday unveiled the group’s ₹10 trillion (about $110 billion) plan to build AI computing infrastructure in India over the next seven years.

Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, Ambani said the investment would fund gigawatt-scale data centers, a nationwide edge computing network, and new AI services integrated with Reliance’s Jio telecom platform.

Reliance has already begun construction of multi-gigawatt data centers in Jamnagar, Gujarat, Ambani said, and more than 120 megawatts of capacity is expected to come online in the second half of 2026.

Ambani’s pledge adds to a growing wave of AI investment in India. Earlier this week, Adani Group outlined plans to invest about $100 billion to build AI data centers in the country, and the Indian government expects more than $200 billion in AI infrastructure spending over the next two years.

Global technology firms are also stepping up their presence, with OpenAI partnering with the Tata Group to develop about 100 megawatts of AI capacity in the country, and plans to scale that to 1 gigawatt eventually.

Ambani said the push is essential for India’s technological self-reliance, saying the country “cannot afford to rent intelligence,” and that Reliance aims to cut the cost of AI services as dramatically as it once reduced mobile data prices in the country.

“The biggest constraint in AI today is not talent or imagination,” Ambani said. “It is scarcity and high cost of compute.”

The build-out, Ambani said, would be supported by Reliance’s green energy capacity, which stretches to 10 gigawatts of surplus power from solar projects in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

Reliance will partner with Indian enterprises, startups, and academic institutions to embed AI in industries ranging from manufacturing and logistics to agriculture, healthcare and financial services.

Jio has already been striking AI partnerships: it last year landed a deal with Google to offer free Gemini AI Pro access to millions of its users in India.

Reliance also plans to develop AI capabilities in several Indian languages to spur adoption of the tech, Ambani said.

The aggressive push highlights how India’s largest conglomerates are racing to secure a foothold in what is expected to be one of the country’s biggest technology opportunities.