RIL’s Big Bet: Ambani’s AGM blueprint turns Reliance into an AI-first, New-Energy powerhouse

At Reliance Industries’ 48th AGM in Mumbai on August 29, Mukesh Ambani reframed the group as a deep-tech enterprise built on three converging bets—AI, Clean Energy and Genomics—arguing that India can lead this wave and that Reliance will embed AI across all its businesses.

1) Jio: From Scale to Separation

Half a billion users; IPO clock starts. Jio has crossed 500 million customers and is preparing to file for an IPO targeted for H1 CY2026 (subject to approvals). For FY25, Jio reported ₹1,28,218 crore in revenue and ₹64,170 crore EBITDA.

Fixed wireless at scale + 5G penetration. Proprietary UBR technology underpins JioAirFiber, which is adding over 1 million homes per month, while Jio True 5G serves 220+ million users.

Why this matters to MSMEs: Jio is positioning itself as the digital back-office for India’s businesses—“simple, scalable and secure” platforms that can cut tech costs for MSMEs and bring cloud, security, payments and analytics within reach.

2) “AI Everywhere for Everyone”: Reliance Intelligence + Big-Tech Tie-ups

New AI subsidiary. Reliance announced Reliance Intelligence, a wholly owned unit with four missions:
• Build gigawatt-scale, AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar powered by green energy;
• Orchestrate global partnerships and open-source ecosystems;
• Deliver trusted AI services for consumers, MSMEs and enterprises;
• Develop a deep AI talent engine blending research with engineering.

Google partnership. A dedicated Jamnagar Cloud region with Google Cloud will power Reliance workloads and accelerate AI adoption across the group and Indian enterprises.

Meta joint venture. A new India-focused AI JV with Meta aims to deliver open-model capabilities with sovereign hosting—lowering inference costs and enabling on-prem/cloud flexibility.

MSME angle: Sovereign, low-latency AI infrastructure plus open models can shrink the cost and time to pilot AI use-cases—OCR, speech, multilingual assistants, demand forecasting—without sending sensitive data offshore.

3) Media & Entertainment: JioStar’s Blitz at Internet Scale

A billion-screen ambition. Within months of launch, the refreshed JioHotstar app reported ~600M users, ~75M connected TVs, and ~300M paying subscribers, indicating a powerful domestic monetization funnel.

Product pipeline. Voice-led RIYA search, Voice Print (AI lip-synced dubbing across Indian languages), JioLenZ viewing modes, and MaxView 3.0 push personalisation and interactivity into mainstream OTT.

SME opportunity: Regional brands and creators gain a high-reach, performance-oriented advertising surface with vernacular AI lowering content localisation and production costs.

4) Retail & FMCG: Wider Moat, Sharper Focus

Retail at scale. FY25 gross revenue reached ₹3,30,943 crore; the network spans ~19,340 stores across 7,000+ towns. Management is guiding for 20%+ CAGR in retail revenues over the next three years.

Digital + B2B flywheel. Online’s share is slated to cross 20% with leadership in hyperlocal/quick commerce. The B2B rail now touches ~42 lakh merchants via Metro and JioMart Digital.

RCPL carve-out. Reliance Consumer Products Ltd delivered ~₹11,500 crore in its first year, with distribution expanding to ~1.5 million outlets in 18 months—signalling an accelerated FMCG play riding on supply-chain and data advantages.

MSME reading: Expect more private-label partnerships, faster rural penetration, and improved procurement/credit rails for kiranas plugged into Reliance’s omnichannel stack.

5) Energy & New Energy: From Integration to Sovereignty

Legacy strength, transition path. O2C posted FY25 revenue of ₹6,26,921 crore and ₹54,988 crore EBITDA with high utilisation. Capex of ~₹75,000 crore is aimed at premium materials—PVC, PTA, specialty polyester—and a global-scale carbon fibre complex.

E&P momentum. E&P EBITDA came in at ~₹21,188 crore with KG-D6 output steady and CBM volumes up, contributing materially to India’s gas basket.

New Energy build-out (Jamnagar).
• HJT solar: first 200 MW produced; roadmap to 10 GWp, then 20 GWp.
• Batteries: factory starts 2026 at 40 GWh, modular to 100 GWh.
• Electrolysers: operational by end-2026, scalable to 3 GW/yr.
• Kutch site: ~5,50,000 acres—among the world’s largest single-site solar projects.
• Green molecules: plan to ~3 MMTPA green hydrogen equivalent by 2032; export focus on green ammonia/methanol and SAF.

Bio-energy + Agrivoltaics.~55 CBG plants are underway (targeting 500+ by 2030). Agrivoltaics seeks triple value—green gas, electricity, and higher farmer incomes.

Take: If execution matches ambition, Reliance becomes a vertically integrated clean-energy manufacturer-operator with domestic AI compute to run it—an unusual, defensible strategic combo.

6) Product Demos with MSME Utility

• Digital-twin-led broadband installs in under 24 hours—useful for SMEs needing rapid activation.

• Jio AI Cloud: an “AI-powered memory companion” for voice search over your own files—handy for receipts, IDs, marketing collateral.

• JioPC: cloud computer via the set-top box—pay-as-you-use access to higher compute tiers.

• JioFrames: AI wearable with multilingual assistant—field-force enablement and on-floor training potential.

7) Macro Signals & Watch-outs

• Scale & cash machine intact. FY25 consolidated revenue ₹10,71,174 crore, EBITDA ₹1,83,422 crore, net profit ₹81,309 crore; workforce near 6.8 lakh with a glide path to 10 lakh+.

• Execution risk: Multiple giga-projects (AI data centres, solar/battery/electrolysers, Kutch build-out) concentrate delivery risk into 2026–2032.

• Regulatory/competition: AI governance, content moderation, and retail competition policy will shape margins and adoption curves.

Bottom Line for SMEStreet

Reliance’s pivot fuses sovereign AI compute, lowest-cost digital distribution, and clean-energy manufacturing—all at national scale. For MSMEs, the near-term wins are pragmatic: faster connectivity, cheaper cloud + AI tools, open-model access, and deeper B2B rails via JioMart/Metro/RCPL. For investors and policymakers, the combination of Jio’s pending IPO, AI infra partnerships, and New Energy gigafactories sketches an India-first platform that can compound across cycles—if the build stays on schedule.