Reliance’s big bet on AI, Mukesh Ambani announces green energy-powered data centres for AI

Reliance Jio will set up gigawatt-scale data centres for artificial intelligence (AI) inference in Gujarat’s Jamnagar. Speaking at the 47th Reliance Industries Annual General Meeting, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said the company wants to ‘democratise’ AI and the upcoming data centres will significantly help achieve the goal. The project will be a part of Reliance’s telecom wing Jio’s ‘AI everywhere for everyone’ vision, which will also include offering AI-powered tools to users at affordable prices.

“...we are laying the groundwork for a truly national AI infrastructure,” said Ambani in his speech. “We plan to establish gigawatt-scale AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, powered entirely by Reliance’s green energy, reflecting our commitment to sustainability…,” he added.

The upcoming data centres will be responsible for processing AI requests in the cloud, allowing the related services to work independent of the device. Ambani said he wants to make AI “accessible on all devices, not just expensive, high-end devices.” The data centres will be crucial in the delivery of the commitment. “This will make AI applications in India more affordable than anywhere else, making AI accessible to all,” he said.

Ambani did not elaborate on the plans, but announced that Jio will roll out the Jio AI Cloud Welcome Offer around Diwali, as part of which Jio users will get 100GB of cloud storage for free. This storage space, likely to be available through the JioCloud app and MyJio app on eligible devices, will allow users to store various files. The service will also offer users AI tools that will help them organise and edit files more conveniently.

Jio has also completed the rollout of its 5G service, dubbed Jio True5G, across the country. Started in 2022, the company’s 5G services are now available in over 7,700 cities and have acquired more than 130 million users. “Jio True 5G now reaches every corner of India,” said Ambani while speaking to the shareholders. “Jio True 5G has also achieved the world’s fastest 5G adoption. In just two years, over 130 million customers have embraced Jio True 5G.”