In a move set to reshape India’s technological landscape, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has officially launched its dedicated artificial intelligence subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence (REIL), marking a major step in the conglomerate’s push into large-scale AI development and infrastructure. With a strategic joint venture featuring Meta and an aggressive talent hiring blitz, REIL is positioned to build sovereign AI solutions aimed at democratizing access for Indian businesses and consumers alike.
A Strategic Vision for Sovereign AI
The creation of Reliance Intelligence, incorporated in September 2025 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, is the execution of a vision announced by Chairman Mukesh Ambani at the company’s Annual General Meeting. The core mission is to develop “sovereign, enterprise-ready AI for India” by combining Meta’s open-source technology with Reliance’s unparalleled domestic reach.
This initiative directly supports national goals like the IndiaAI Mission and Atmanirbhar Bharat, aiming to keep data and innovation within the country while making cutting-edge tools accessible and affordable.
The Meta Partnership: Power and Structure
A cornerstone of REIL’s strategy is its landmark joint venture with Meta. The partnership is not merely technical but a formal, capitalized entity with clear stakes.
The venture will focus on creating a full-stack environment for businesses to customize and deploy generative AI applications. It plans to offer an Enterprise AI Platform-as-a-Service for custom model development and a suite of pre-configured AI solutions for functions like sales, marketing, and customer service.
Building the Foundation: Talent and Infrastructure
REIL’s launch is accompanied by immediate, concrete actions to build its capabilities.
Leadership and Talent Drive
The unit is led by Gaurav Aggarwal, Chief AI Scientist at Reliance Jio, a former researcher with stints at Google DeepMind and IBM. Aggarwal has publicly initiated a major hiring campaign, seeking AI/ML engineers with experience in training pipelines, distributed systems, and deep learning research.
“At Reliance Intelligence, we’re assembling a team that can push what is technically possible in India’s AI ecosystem… If you’ve worked on training pipelines… and want to operate at national scale – this is an opportunity to build something meaningful,” said Gaurav Aggarwal.
Positions are available for professionals in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, focusing on developing Indic-language models and new product incubation.
National-Scale Infrastructure
To support its ambitions, Reliance is developing a gigawatt-scale, AI-ready data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat. This infrastructure is critical for providing the massive computing power required to train and run advanced AI models and will strengthen India’s domestic AI ecosystem.
A Multi-Pronged Go-To-Market Strategy
REIL is positioned to impact the market through several channels:
- Enterprise Solutions: The joint venture with Meta will deliver cost-effective AI tools to Indian businesses of all sizes, from large corporations to small and medium enterprises (SMBs), helping them improve productivity and innovation.
- Consumer Ecosystem Integration: AI capabilities will be deeply integrated into Reliance’s existing consumer ecosystem. In partnership with Google, Reliance has already started offering the Google AI Pro plan—featuring advanced Gemini models—to Jio users free for 18 months. This move immediately brings powerful AI tools to Jio’s vast user base of over 500 million.
- Indic-Language Focus: A key development area for REIL’s internal team is creating AI models tailored for India’s 22+ official languages, ensuring the technology is accessible across the country’s diverse linguistic landscape.
Implications for India’s AI and Startup Ecosystem
The launch of Reliance Intelligence is a watershed moment with broad implications:
- Democratizing Access: By leveraging open-source models and Reliance’s scale, REIL aims to drastically lower the cost and complexity of adopting advanced AI for Indian enterprises. This could level the playing field, allowing SMBs and startups to compete with larger players.
- Boosting Domestic Talent Demand: The aggressive hiring and large-scale projects will create a significant demand for high-end AI talent in India, potentially helping to retain skilled researchers and engineers within the country.
- Strengthening Sovereign Capabilities: With a focus on local data centers, Indic-language models, and solutions built for Indian contexts, REIL contributes directly to building India’s self-reliance in a critical future technology.
The Road Ahead
Reliance Intelligence launches into a competitive and fast-evolving global AI landscape. Its success will hinge on its ability to execute its ambitious infrastructure projects, attract and retain top-tier talent, and deliver tangible value to both enterprise clients and consumers through intuitive, effective products.
By combining Reliance’s domestic market strength and digital infrastructure with Meta’s global AI technology, REIL is uniquely positioned to accelerate India’s AI adoption. As this new powerhouse begins operations, it signals the start of a new chapter in India’s digital transformation, one where homegrown AI solutions are built to serve the specific needs of a billion-strong nation.
