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Reliance Jio has announced a ₹10 lakh crore investment to build India’s AI backbone over seven years. From gigawatt-scale data centres to nationwide edge compute, Mukesh Ambani says India will no longer “rent intelligence” but create its own AI power.
Reliance Jio announced plans to invest ₹10 lakh crore over the next seven years
New Delhi: In a massive bet on India’s artificial intelligence future, Reliance Jio on Thursday announced plans to invest ₹10 lakh crore over the next seven years to build a robust AI ecosystem in the country. The announcement was made by Mukesh Ambani at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Ambani described the investment as long-term, disciplined capital aimed at strengthening India’s economic resilience rather than chasing short-term valuations. He stressed that India cannot afford to “rent intelligence” and must instead develop its own sovereign AI capabilities, much like it once drove down the cost of mobile data.
According to Ambani, the biggest bottleneck in AI today is not talent but access to affordable computing power. To address this, Jio’s AI arm, Jio Intelligence, will focus on three pillars: gigawatt-scale data centres, green energy integration, and a nationwide edge computing network.
Construction has already begun on large AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar. More than 120 megawatts of capacity is expected to go live in the second half of 2026, with plans to scale up to gigawatt-level infrastructure to support AI training and high-volume inference workloads.
The company also plans to leverage India’s renewable energy strengths to power these facilities, aiming to make AI infrastructure both sustainable and cost-effective.
A nationwide edge-compute layer integrated with Jio’s telecom network is expected to bring AI processing closer to users. This, Ambani said, will ensure low latency, faster response times and affordable access to intelligence for individuals and enterprises.
Jio intends to collaborate closely with Indian enterprises, startups, IITs, IISc and research institutions. The goal is to embed AI across sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, energy, retail, agriculture, finance and healthcare.
Rejecting concerns that automation will eliminate jobs, Ambani argued that AI will generate high-skill employment and open new opportunities. He emphasised that the global AI race is no longer about building the best model but about creating the strongest ecosystem for rapid and large-scale adoption.
With this investment, Jio aims to position India among the world’s leading AI powers in the 21st century.
