In a bold declaration, Mukesh Ambani, the visionary Chairman of Reliance Industries, has set forth an ambitious goal for the conglomerate—to pioneer artificial intelligence (AI) solutions addressing critical areas such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and employment in India. Emphasizing the need for Reliance to reinvent itself as a new-age technology company, Ambani envisions the integration of data and AI as catalysts for a significant leap in productivity and efficiency.
During the Reliance Family Day, the 66-year-old billionaire stated, “As India races ahead to become the world’s third-largest economy, an unprecedented opportunity awaits Reliance. Reliance can and Reliance will grow to be among the top 10 business conglomerates of the world.” Ambani envisions Reliance Industries evolving into a global leader in digital platforms, data, and AI adoption.
Over the past decade, Mukesh Ambani has spearheaded the transformation of Reliance from a traditional energy and material business into a technology powerhouse. The conglomerate, founded by Ambani’s father Dhirubhai Ambani in 1957, now operates across diverse sectors, including telecoms, digital services, retail, oil and gas, and new energy, boasting a market value exceeding $200 billion.
To fortify its AI ambitions, Reliance inked a strategic deal with US chip giant Nvidia in September. The collaboration aims to develop cloud infrastructure, language models, and generative applications, providing a robust foundation for Reliance’s AI endeavors.
In his year-end address to employees, Ambani urged them to spearhead AI-led transformations across key growth engines such as digital services, retail, oil and chemical business, as well as health and life sciences by 2024. “We need to be at the forefront of using data, with AI as an enabler for achieving a quantum jump in productivity and efficiency. All our growth engines of Reliance will have to complete this transformation by the time we meet next year,” he asserted.
Ambani also imparted valuable leadership lessons to the company’s young leaders, encouraging them to focus on future goals, learn from past mistakes without dwelling on them, and exhibit boldness and courage in pursuing objectives.
Interestingly, on the same day, rival conglomerate Adani Group announced a joint venture with a unit of Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Co. for the deployment of AI, Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain products. This move signals a broader industry trend, with companies recognizing the immense potential in harnessing cutting-edge technologies for India’s digitization opportunities, estimated at a staggering $175 billion.
