Reliance Industries Bets Big on AI with New Services for Phone Calls, Apps, and Homes

Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire chairman of Reliance Industries, is driving the company's push into artificial intelligence, unveiling a range of new AI-powered services at the company's annual shareholder meeting. The services, which include an AI assistant for phone calls, an AI-powered version of the MyJio app, and a smart home display called TeleFrame, are designed to make AI a ubiquitous part of daily life in India. The AI assistant, called Jio Call Agent, can join phone calls to transcribe conversations, generate summaries, and perform tasks such as booking cabs or ordering food. The service is expected to launch later this year for Jio's over 500 million users.

Reliance is also expanding its AI ambitions in other areas, including healthcare, education, and agriculture, with a suite of new services designed to operate across multiple Indian languages. The company's push into AI is part of a broader effort by Indian companies to build domestic capabilities in the field, which is currently dominated by US and Chinese technology companies. Reliance has partnered with global players such as Google, Meta, and Nvidia to develop its AI infrastructure and services, and has announced plans to invest $110 billion in AI infrastructure. The company's AI ambitions come as it prepares for the long-awaited stock market debut of its Jio Platforms subsidiary, which is expected to include a fresh issue of up to 270 million shares.

As Reliance expands its AI services, it will need to address questions about how it will handle user data, including whether data generated through its products will be used to train AI models or shared with technology partners.

Source: TechCrunch