Reliance

Ambani's Vision: Making AI accessible to all with Reliance's bold move

Reliance disrupted the fast-growing telecom sector with ultra-low data prices at about a quarter of the average globally and free voice calls on its 4G network, catapulting India as one of the largest markets for data consumption in the world eight years ago. But now, the Mukesh Ambani-controlled conglomerate is preparing for another big disruption by "democratizing" the latest breakthrough in Artificial Intelligence or AI.

Ambani's Vision: Democratizing AI for Every Indian

The Chairman, Ambani, at the 47th AGM of Reliance Industries Ltd last week, underlined AI and deep tech from an AI service platform called JioBrain i.e. democratize AI, targeting to transform various operations at businesses in the group to its telecom arm working on AI-enabled features for subscribers.

Ambani's vision then proceeded with the conglomerate's AI roadmap is, to make AI available to "every Indian everywhere," from mobile users down the line to small businesses, all over again at affordable prices.

Cloud-Based AI Services: A New Approach to Mobile AI Processing

To that end, Reliance is adopting a different approach from global mobile device manufacturers who are essentially keeping AI processing within the device. Reliance will build a delivery model whereby AI services and processing will be hosted on the cloud over low-latency broadband networks. This will extend the AI-powered solutions and services currently available on a handful of high-end smartphones priced upwards of ₹60,000 to more affordable 4G and 5G phones, some of which cost less than even ₹10,000.

Of the few phones powered by AI, for example, Samsung's Ultra S24 AI does most of its AI processing on-device without using the internet. Similarly, the new Pixel 9 from Google takes after that model. And not to be outdone, Apple reportedly leaps into the AI domain with its forthcoming new iPhone 16 to be launched on September 9.

Jio's Free Cloud Storage: A Strategic Move to Boost AI Adoption

As a Diwali offering, Reliance Jio will provide 100 GB of free cloud storage to all its 490 million subscribers of its 4G and 5G services for seamless access to photos, videos, and other digital content, irrespective of their phone storage. More storage will be provided on payment but at competitive rates.

That far exceeds any offering found on other AI-driven mobile platforms. Google One and Samsung each offer only 15GB free, while Apple's iPhone offers just 5GB. On the other hand, Google charges ₹130 per month for 100GB of storage, almost as much as what any data plan costs monthly in India.

Analysts said free storage is a shrewd move as a way of ushering in AI adoption. Neil Shah, the founder of India-based Counterpoint Research, said the offer was all about priming users for JioCloud. AI-powered services that may be included are call transcription, language translation, and many more. But Shah qualified that the 100 GB storage is not free because it comes with user data that can help train Jio's AI appropriately with privacy safeguards and clear opt-ins.

AI-Powered Services: The Future of JioCloud

Analysts view this free storage as a brilliant way to get AI adoption going. Neil Shah, a founder of India-based Counterpoint Research, thinks of this move as one to gradually get users acclimated with JioCloud by offering AI-driven features like call transcriptions, language translations, among other things.

But Shah surmises that the 100 GB storage isn't exactly free as user data will be helping to train Jio's AI, although with privacy safeguards and clear opt-ins. Yet, the problems persist. Google One and Apple's services start native with operating systems. Jio's will be a system unto itself. Jio will need to work with mobile brands, chip suppliers such as Qualcomm, and app developers to boost integration and scalability.

While this integration may not be particularly challenging as Google, Qualcomm, and Meta are equity partners in Reliance Jio, some analysts are of the view that higher storage alone may not make much of a difference as Apple and Google in particular increasingly bundle services such as music, video, AI, and gaming, thereby creating more consumer lock-in. The question is whether Reliance does likewise.

According to people familiar with Reliance's AI strategy, the company is working on a large language model-powered AI aimed at Indian users, keeping in mind local languages, culture, and regulations. That might just give it an edge over global giants Google, Meta, and Apple.

The Road Ahead: Evaluating Reliance's AI Potential

Reliance reportedly works on a wide range of AI services for both consumers and enterprises. The company is said to be testing applications of AI across its diversified businesses-from telecom network management to customer service bots in the enterprise segment. Code optimization, debugging, generation, explanation, and even LLM-as-a-service are some AI services reportedly in the pipeline.

For consumers, Reliance is working on services like speech-to-speech, speech-to-text, image-to-video generation, text-to-music generation, and image recognition, among others. Other services in the works include AI-powered virtual yoga coaches, augmented reality shopping, and at-home virtual clothing trials.

There are, however a few questions. The quality and relevance of the AI that Reliance deploys remain to be seen compared to global offerings that are backed by billions of dollars. It is yet to be seen whether the infrastructure at Reliance would be enough to support millions of queries and whether people would trust Jio with data on the cloud.

Eventually, it is there that the success will lie in the service itself, the experience on the app, and how well the images are tagged and retrieved. The AI wars have just become more interesting with Reliance jumping into the fray.