New Delhi: Mukesh Ambani is taking Reliance Industries into a new phase where telecom, retail, artificial intelligence, new energy and digital services are becoming increasingly important alongside the company’s traditional oil and chemicals businesses.
Reliance has already transformed India’s telecom market through Jio. The next major opportunity is to turn Jio into a broader technology platform. Jio Platforms is expected to become one of the biggest corporate events in India’s capital markets, with Reuters reporting plans for a listing that could raise around $3.8 billion and value the company at roughly $180 billion.
AI is another major part of the strategy.
In February 2026, Reliance announced plans for around $110 billion of investment in AI-ready data centres, as part of a much larger AI infrastructure push involving Reliance and Adani. Reliance’s Jio is also working on a 120 MW AI-ready data-centre capacity.
The company’s Jamnagar complex is becoming particularly important in this plan. In June, Reliance and Meta announced a partnership involving a 168 MW data centre in Jamnagar, a facility that could eventually be expanded.
This is significant because AI needs three things at scale: computing power, data and electricity. Reliance already has major assets in telecom, energy and digital infrastructure. Its strategy is therefore to combine these capabilities rather than build AI as a separate business.
Retail is another major growth engine. Reliance Retail has expanded across supermarkets, fashion, electronics and digital commerce. The company is also using AI in merchandising and supply-chain management to improve product availability and reduce waste.
At the same time, Reliance is investing in new energy. The company has been developing manufacturing capabilities around solar modules, batteries, electrolyzers and other clean-energy technologies.
The larger strategy is clear: Reliance wants to move from being primarily an energy and petrochemicals company to becoming a consumer, technology and infrastructure conglomerate.
Jio provides the digital connection. Retail provides access to consumers. New energy provides a future industrial base, while AI and data centres could create a new technology layer across the group.
This approach also changes the role of Reliance’s traditional businesses. Oil and chemicals are no longer simply the destination of the company’s investment; they are increasingly being used as a source of cash and infrastructure for newer businesses.
