Adani's new JV with UAE’s IHC to tap into AI, IoT, blockchain

Making its entry into the much-hyped artificial intelligence (AI) space, Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises Ltd has formed a joint venture (JV), Sirius Digitech International Ltd, with UAE’s International Holding Co.’s (IHC) unit to explore cutting-edge AI, internet of things (IoT) and secured blockchain products for industrial applications.

The JV will formed between Adani Enterprises' wholly owned subsidiary Adani Global Ltd and Sirius International Holding Ltd, a subsidiary of UAE's International Holding Co.

Sirius JV will be owned 51% by Sirius and 49% by Adani, an Adani group statement says. It aims to tap into the $175 billion digitalisation opportunity in the Indian economy. "Sirius JV will capitalise on the global digital transformation expertise of Sirius and Adani's strategic insights to focus on leading the $175 Bn opportunity in digitalisation of the Indian economy," Adani Enterprises says.

Sirius JV will deploy an integrated ecosystem of digital platforms by leveraging the power of AI, IoT and secured blockchain products across infrastructure industries and extending to fintech, healthtech and greentech.

"Inexpensive sensorisation and the power of artificial intelligence are opening up new ways to drive extreme levels of efficiency, ensure real-time decision making, and rapidly deploy transformative business models. The power of compute and the ability to deliver green energy to data centres creates a unique combination of strengths that we bring to this partnership with Sirius International Holding," an Adani Enterprises spokesperson says.

Sirius International, in its statement, says the partnership reflects a commitment to address key challenges and unlock opportunities in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. "Sirius's expertise and Adani's dynamic approach will be instrumental in empowering businesses to thrive in the digital era."

The new company will deploy cutting-edge AI and enterprise blockchain products and services for industrial applications cashing in on Adani Group's industrial testbed to validate and scale its solutions.

IHC claims to be the most valuable listed holding company in the Middle East with a market cap of AED 879 billion as of September 30, 2023. IHC is included in the FTSE ADX 15 Index (FADX 15), representing the top 15 largest and most liquid companies on the ADX. Sirius International Holding, a subsidiary of IHC, leverages disruptive technologies to drive cross-sector digital transformation.

Notably, the whole AI ecosystem in India is thriving with companies garnering funding worth $3.24 billion in 2022, which is set to double in 2023. India will see a substantial increase in its GDP by around $1.2-1.5 trillion over the next seven years, thanks to the adoption of Gen AI technology, consultancy major EY India said in its December 2023 report. Considering the scale of AI adoption, India could contribute $359-438 billion in the fiscal year 2029-30 alone, a 5.9-7.2% increase over the baseline GDP.