India’s top telco tackles AI with $110 billion build plan and proven fast market dominance playbook

Steven

India’s top telco tackles AI with $110 billion build plan and proven fast market dominance playbook

Summary

Reliance Jio has announced a US$110 billion plan to build datacentre capacity and gigawatts of compute over seven years to run AI workloads. Chairman Mukesh Ambani framed the investment as a long‑term, nation‑building move to slash the cost and scarcity of compute — the company’s stated aim is to make intelligence as affordable as data became under Jio’s mobile playbook.

Jio’s prior strategy — rock‑bottom service plans, ultra‑cheap own‑brand phones and a rapid rollout of networks — vaulted it to market leadership in India. The company says it now serves 514 million subscribers and controls roughly 51% of the mobile market, positioning it to potentially replicate that dominance in consumer AI services. Jio also announced partnerships that include integrating OpenAI’s search service into some products; separately, OpenAI is expanding presence in India and working with Tata Group for sovereign datacentre capacity.

Key Points

  • Jio will invest US$110 billion across seven years to build datacentres and large‑scale AI compute capacity.
  • The firm aims to cut the cost of AI compute dramatically, arguing scarcity and cost — not talent — are the main constraints today.
  • Jio’s previous market strategy—cheap plans, low‑cost handsets and rapid network rollout—delivered massive subscriber growth and market share; management plans to apply the same playbook to AI services.
  • Partnerships announced include integration with OpenAI services; OpenAI itself is expanding in India and working with Tata to host sovereign capacity.
  • The India AI Impact Summit drew major global tech leaders and political attention, signalling New Delhi’s ambition to become a central player in AI policy and infrastructure.
  • If Jio succeeds, it could reshape the Indian AI market and offer a low‑cost, large‑scale alternative to global hyperscalers for consumer AI services.

Context and Relevance

This matters because the global AI race is increasingly about who controls cheap, abundant compute and localised infrastructure. India has deep talent pools but has lagged in domestic AI datacentre capacity; Jio’s plan, if executed, could change that balance and affect hyperscaler economics in the region.

For policy makers, businesses and investors, the move highlights two trends: sovereign and regional AI infrastructure initiatives, and platform plays by incumbent telcos leveraging distribution and low‑price strategies to capture new markets. Western AI firms may find both opportunities (partnerships) and competition (local, low‑cost alternatives).

Why should I read this?

Short and blunt: Jio did to mobile what few companies could — it crushed prices, flooded the market and won scale. If they pull the same trick with AI compute, it’ll reshape who gets to serve billions of users in India. If you care about AI markets, cloud economics or who the next big regional powerhouses will be, this is worth a quick skim — we’ve saved you the time by pulling the key bits out.

Source

Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2026/02/20/jio_ai_plans_india_summit/