AI revolution to power India’s rise and Global South’s growth: Mukesh Ambani at AI Impact Summit

The Global AI Impact Summit marked a defining moment in India’s technology journey, with industry leaders pledging to position artificial intelligence (AI) at the heart of the country’s ambition to become a developed nation by 2047. 

Addressing the summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said India’s vision of an AI-powered “Viksit Bharat” aligns with a broader aspiration for a developed Global South. He described AI as a transformative force capable of ushering in an era of “super-abundance” and potentially eliminating poverty while creating prosperity for all. 

Ambani said that the world stands at a crossroads, whether AI will concentrate power in a few hands or democratise opportunity. He warned against a future where compute, data, and AI capabilities remain scarce and controlled by a handful of nations, widening global inequalities. Instead, he endorsed a model where AI is affordable, accessible and beneficial to all. 

India will emerge as one of the world’s leading AI powers in the 21st century: Ambani 

Predicting that India will emerge as one of the world’s leading AI powers in the 21st century, he cited the country’s strengths in demography, democracy, digital infrastructure, and data generation. He highlighted India’s nearly one billion internet users, 1.4 billion Aadhaar digital IDs, and over 12 billion monthly UPI transactions as evidence of its digital scale. 

Jio and Reliance will invest ₹10 lakh crore over the next seven years 

Announcing a major push into AI, Ambani said Jio and Reliance will invest ₹10 lakh crore over the next seven years to build sovereign AI infrastructure. This includes multi-gigawatt AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, backed by green energy capacity of up to 10 GW, and a nationwide edge-compute network integrated with Jio’s connectivity platform. 

Five principles guiding Jio’s AI strategy 

He outlined five principles guiding Jio’s AI strategy: boosting deep-tech leadership, multilingual AI across Indian languages, ensuring data security and trust, generating high-skill employment, and building a strong AI ecosystem through partnerships with startups, IITs, IISc and global technology firms. 

Ambani also showcased AI-led initiatives in education, healthcare, and agriculture, positioning AI as a tool for inclusive development. 

Calling for global cooperation, he said AI’s promise can only be realised through collaboration rather than conflict, urging nations to combine intelligence with empathy to build a shared future.