Ambani pledges Rs 10 lakh crore for AI push as Modi calls for inclusive tech future

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Thursday announced that Reliance will invest Rs 10 lakh crore over the next seven years, as he outlined plans to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure in India.

Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Ambani said the investment would begin this year and focus on building large-scale capabilities to support AI growth. “Jio with Reliance will invest Rs 10 lakh cr over the next 7 years starting this year,” he said.

He said the investment is aimed at long-term development rather than short-term returns. “This is not speculative investment. It is not for chasing valuation. This is patient, disciplined nation-building capital.”

Ambani said artificial intelligence has the potential to transform economies and societies, adding that “the best of AI is yet to come” and that it can usher in “an era of super abundance”.

He said the world currently stands at a fork in the road on AI, with one path leading to scarce and expensive systems with controlled data, while the other enables affordable and accessible AI.

Highlighting infrastructure challenges, Ambani said the biggest constraint in AI is not talent but the high cost of compute. “Jio Intelligence will build India’s sovereign compute infrastructure,” he said, adding that this will include gigawatt-scale data centres.

He said Jio had previously connected India to the internet era and would now extend that to the intelligence era. “We will deliver intelligence to every citizen, every sector of the economy and every facet of the social development. Jio will do so with the same reliability, scale and extreme affordability that transformed connectivity.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the summit and said artificial intelligence must be democratised and used as a tool for inclusion and empowerment, particularly for the Global South.

“Artificial intelligence marks a transformative chapter in human history. India is not just a part of the AI revolution, but is leading and shaping it,” he said.

Modi said India represents one sixth of humanity and has the world’s largest young population along with a large technology talent base. He added that the country not only develops technology but also adopts it at scale.

“Some people have doubts about new technology. But the way the younger generation is embracing AI is unprecedented. There has also been tremendous enthusiasm here regarding the AI Summit exhibition,” he said.

He described artificial intelligence as one of the major turning points in human history. “In the course of human history, there have been certain turning points that shaped entire centuries. These turning points set the direction of civilisation and transform the pace of development. Artificial intelligence is one such transformation in history,” he said.

The summit at Bharat Mandapam is being attended by several global leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Disanayaka, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Croatia Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic, Seychelles Vice President Sebastien Pillay, Estonia President Alar Karis, and Finland Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

The event, however, has faced setbacks. Bill Gates pulled out of the summit hours before his scheduled keynote address on Thursday. The Gates Foundation said the billionaire will not deliver his address “to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities”.

Only days earlier, the foundation had dismissed reports of his absence and said he was on track to attend.

His withdrawal, along with another high-profile cancellation by Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, added to challenges for the summit, which has also faced organisational issues, a robot-related controversy and complaints of traffic disruption.

The India AI Impact Summit has been positioned as a major artificial intelligence forum for the Global South, with India seeking to play a central role in global AI governance.