Meta and Reliance to build open-source AI models for Indian businesses

Highlights:

Meta and Reliance Industries (RIL) have formed a joint venture aimed at building India-focused artificial intelligence (AI) solutions by combining Meta's open-source AI technology with Reliance’s deep industry expertise. This collaboration is designed to deliver enterprise-grade AI models and tools tailored for Indian businesses, democratizing access to advanced AI technology and fostering productivity, innovation, and creativity across sectors.

Partnership details and investment

The joint venture, announced at Reliance's Annual General Meeting on August 29, 2025, involves an initial investment of approximately ₹855 crore (about $100 million). Reliance holds a 70 per cent stake, while Meta owns 30 per cent. The partnership will leverage Meta's popular and widely adopted open-source Llama AI models to provide AI platform-as-a-service offerings to Indian enterprises, including startups and large corporations alike. This allows for tailored deployment across cloud, on-premises, or dedicated infrastructure setups suited to the unique requirements of various businesses.

Vision and impact

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the transformative potential of the partnership, highlighting how AI, especially models like Llama, can amplify human potential by boosting productivity, inspiring creativity, and accelerating innovation. Zuckerberg expressed excitement about empowering every entrepreneur, creator, and company across India with AI tools, envisioning that the venture could be a model for delivering AI and eventually superintelligence. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance, underlined that combining Reliance’s sectoral expertise in energy, telecom, retail, media, and manufacturing with open-source AI will enable sovereign and enterprise-ready AI solutions for India’s diverse industries.

Google collaboration and infrastructure

In addition to the Meta partnership, Reliance announced an allied collaboration with Google to support AI adoption across its vast business landscape. Google and Reliance will establish a dedicated cloud region in Jamnagar, India, solely for Reliance’s use, powered by clean energy from Reliance and connected by Jio’s advanced network infrastructure. This initiative aims to bring world-class AI computing capabilities closer to Indian businesses, enhancing Reliance's digital transformation and supporting AI-driven innovations in sectors like energy, retail, telecom, and financial services.

Strategic significance

This trio of collaborations underscores Reliance’s ambition to elevate India as a major player in next-generation AI technologies while democratizing access to cutting-edge tools. The partnerships aim to make AI affordable, customizable, and accessible even to smaller enterprises in remote areas, thereby catalyzing a nationwide AI adoption wave.

The initiative highlights how leading global technology firms and Indian conglomerates are joining forces to build infrastructure and AI ecosystems that reflect local needs and capabilities, positioning India as a hub for technological advancement and innovation in AI.

In summary, the joint AI venture between Meta and Reliance, augmented by Google's support through cloud infrastructure, represents a landmark effort to build sovereign, scalable, and inclusive AI solutions tailored for Indian enterprises, empowering them to innovate, compete globally, and unlock new potential across industries.