Reliance Industries and Nvidia have forged a groundbreaking partnership aimed at establishing a large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in India, a move that could significantly bolster the country’s capabilities in the rapidly evolving AI sector. This strategic collaboration was announced during a fireside chat between Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the Nvidia AI Summit 2024 in Mumbai.
The partnership will leverage Nvidia's latest GB 200 supercomputer technology, enabling Reliance to build a vast AI infrastructure capable of supporting extensive AI applications. Ambani emphasized the ambition of this initiative, stating, "India will start with what is the absolute best technology you have." He revealed that Reliance plans to develop infrastructure for 1 gigawatt (GW), which can be expanded to accommodate multiple capacities at a single location. This approach aims to replicate the successful model Reliance employed with its Jio platform, which transformed mobile data accessibility in India.
The collaboration has a broader goal of making AI technology affordable and accessible to India's 1.4 billion people, similar to how Jio made mobile data economically viable. Ambani illustrated this by highlighting Jio's current pricing of 15 cents per gigabyte, a stark contrast to the global average of $3.50, showcasing Reliance's capability to democratize technology on a large scale.
Huang noted that India possesses unique advantages in the AI race, citing its substantial pool of IT talent, vast digital data resources, and a large user base that can drive an "AI flywheel." Nvidia, which employs over 10,000 engineers in India, views this partnership as essential for nurturing indigenous AI capabilities. Huang also reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for AI in India, recalling their discussions about the need for India to manufacture its own AI solutions instead of merely "exporting data to import intelligence." He quoted Modi, saying, "We should not just export flour to import bread. We should add value to the data ourselves."
Moreover, both leaders recognized the importance of open-source AI models, particularly Meta's Llama, in democratizing AI development. Ambani proposed that Indian developers could utilize Llama as a foundational tool to potentially create more advanced AI models tailored for Indian languages in the future.
This partnership signifies a pivotal moment in India's AI journey, merging Nvidia's state-of-the-art technology with Reliance's robust execution capabilities and infrastructure expertise. As India embarks on this ambitious venture, the implications for its tech landscape and the broader global AI ecosystem could be profound, setting the stage for increased innovation and economic growth in the years to come.
