Ambani’s $110 billion bet: Reliance and Jio to build India’s sovereign AI backbone

Summary

Reliance Industries and its telecom arm Jio will invest about $109.8 billion over the next seven years to expand artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. The plan focuses on building domestic computing capacity, renewable-powered data centres, and long-term “nation-building” digital infrastructure.

NEW DELHI, Feb. 19, 2026 — Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has unveiled one of the largest private-sector AI investment plans globally, committing roughly $110 billion to scale India’s computing and data capabilities.

The announcement, made at the AI Impact Summit, underscores how Indian conglomerates are accelerating investments in infrastructure to meet surging demand for artificial intelligence workloads. 

Ambani described the spending as long-term “nation-building capital,” aimed at addressing the high cost and limited availability of computing power — two of the biggest constraints on AI development in India. 

Jamnagar hub to anchor early rollout

Reliance’s initial push centers on building large-scale, AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

• Capacity timeline: More than 120 megawatts of AI-ready computing capacity is expected to come online in the second half of 2026.
• Multi-gigawatt roadmap: Facilities are being designed at gigawatt scale to support future demand. 
• Renewable power: The sites will be powered by clean energy, aligning with broader sustainability goals. 

The initiative is intended to create domestic AI infrastructure rather than relying heavily on overseas cloud capacity.

Part of a broader surge in AI infrastructure spending

Reliance’s plan comes amid a wave of large investments in India’s AI ecosystem. Companies are committing billions to data centres and computing platforms as demand rises across industries. 

Separately, other major groups have also announced large-scale infrastructure plans, highlighting intensifying competition to build the backbone of the country’s digital economy. 

Strategic implications

• Expanding domestic compute supply: Greater local capacity could lower costs for startups and enterprises developing AI applications.
• Positioning India as a regional hub: Large-scale infrastructure may attract global technology firms seeking regional hosting and deployment capacity.
• Energy-compute integration: Combining renewable energy with data centres could improve efficiency and long-term operating economics.

Why this matters

The announcement highlights a structural shift in how countries approach AI development.
Rather than relying solely on global cloud providers, nations are increasingly investing in domestic infrastructure to ensure capacity, control, and resilience.

For India, the scale of private investment signals confidence in long-term AI demand and reinforces the country’s ambition to become a major global compute hub.

FAQs

Q1: How much is Reliance investing?

About $109.8 billion over seven years to build AI and data infrastructure. 

Q2: What will the investment fund?

Primarily data centres, computing capacity, and related infrastructure to support AI workloads. 

Q3: Where will the first facilities be located?

Large AI-ready data centres are under development in Jamnagar, Gujarat. 

Q4: When will capacity start coming online?

More than 120 MW is expected in the second half of 2026. 

Q5: Why is this investment significant?

It reflects growing demand for computing power and the strategic importance of domestic AI infrastructure.