The Big Pivot

Reliance Industries is redefining what it stands for. After changing India’s telecom and retail landscape, Mukesh Ambani now wants to turn Reliance into an AI-driven technology powerhouse. The shift marks a major move away from hydrocarbons toward high-performance computation — a future where energy powers intelligence.

Business Strategy Where the Money Flows

Capital Deployment

Reliance has committed ₹100,000 crore ($12–15 billion) to build large-scale AI data infrastructure.

Jamnagar AI Hub

The company plans to set up gigawatt-class, green-powered data centre clusters in Jamnagar designed specifically for AI workloads and cloud computing.

Global Partnerships

Reliance is joining hands with global tech giants:

• A 70:30 joint venture with Meta to develop enterprise AI services.

• Collaboration with Google to build generative AI and cloud support for Indian businesses.

Model Shift

Reliance’s new mission moves from “connectivity for all” to “computation for all.”The focus is now shifting from commodity volumes to data and computation volumes, marking a new growth phase.

Why It Matters - Value Creation Potential

• Valuation Upside: Analysts estimate that Reliance’s AI vertical could be worth $30 billion by FY27 if execution stays on track.

• India Advantage: With data localisation and growing AI demand, India offers a massive opportunity for domestic infrastructure.

• Ecosystem Synergy:

  • Jio : Will drive enterprise AI and edge-cloud solutions.

  • Retail : Gains from smarter customer insights and predictive supply chains.

  • Energy : Supports green-power needs of new data centres.

  • Digital Services : Benefits from built-in enterprise AI use cases.

What Could Go Right - Key Strengths

• Strong financial position and capital scale

• First-mover advantage in India’s AI infrastructure market

• Fully integrated model: Energy + Connectivity + Data Centres + AI

• Global tech partnerships that lower early development risk

What Could Go Wrong - Risk Dashboard

• India’s enterprise AI adoption is still at an early stage

• Complex execution across infrastructure, services, and monetisation

• High capital needs with long payback periods

• Unclear regulatory environment for AI and data management

Most Impacted Units

• Jio (Telecom) : 5G-AI enterprise services and edge computing

• Retail : Real-time analytics and improved customer experience

• Energy : New revenue from green power supply to data centres

• Enterprise Services : New vertical under Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Ltd. in partnership with Meta

Analyst Commentary

• Morgan Stanley : Expects around 11% ROCE during the build-out phase

• Brokerages : Value the AI business at a minimum 2× price-to-book

• Street View : The vision is bold, but success depends on flawless execution

Final Word

Reliance is entering its next evolution - from oil barrels to data tokens. The company’s goal is clear: to build India’s most advanced AI infrastructure and make artificial intelligence its next growth engine.

If executed well, Reliance could become a leader in India’s AI revolution and create a multi-billion-dollar tech franchise. But as analysts point out, scaling AI is a marathon, not a sprint.

One thing is clear - AI is the new oil, and Mukesh Ambani has already started drilling.

Sources

Economic Times

Business Standard

Gulf News