In a bid to expand its AI footprint in emerging markets, Google has partnered with billionaire Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries to bundle its AI Pro subscription with Jio 5G plans at no extra cost.
On Thursday, Google was announced a partnership with Reliance, India’s largest company by market capitalization, to offer AI Pro subscription for free for 18 months to eligible Jio users. The alliance comes just three months after Perplexity partnered with Reliance’s arch-rival Bharti Airtel, India’s second largest telecom operator, to provide free access to Perplexity Pro for Airtel’s 360 million subscribers.
India, the world’s most populous nation and the second-largest Internet market with more than a billion users, has long been an irresistible target for global technology companies. Although the country has yet to see an artificial intelligence breakthrough, US tech giants increasingly see it as the next great frontier — a place to collect diverse data, refine models and test AI use cases that could later be expanded to other emerging markets. The latest partnership between Google and Reliance is a clear reflection of this strategy.
The Jio offer will initially reach users aged 18 to 25 before being extended to all Jio subscribers nationwide, the companies said. Includes access to Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro model via the Gemini app, higher limits for AI image and video creation with Nano Banana and Veo 3.1, expanded use of Notebook LM for study and research, and 2 TB of cloud storage in Google Photos, Gmail, Drive, and WhatsApp backups.
“This partnership will also explore bringing more enjoyable local experiences powered by artificial intelligence to Jio users,” the Indian telecom giant said.
The 18-month supply is valued at ₹35,100 (about $396), the companies said. Google’s AI Pro plan normally it costs ₹1,950 (approx. $22) per month in India and includes a one-month free trial.
Beyond the consumer offering, Reliance has also partnered with Google Cloud to expand access to tensor processing units (TPUs) in India. Reliance’s AI subsidiary Reliance Intelligence will become a strategic Google Cloud partner to expand Gemini Enterprise to organizations in India and develop its own pre-built AI agents for the platform.
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“Today’s announcement will put Google’s cutting-edge AI tools in the hands of consumers, businesses and India’s vibrant developer community,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said in a prepared statement.
At its 48th annual general meeting in late August, Reliance announced partnerships with investors Google and Meta to boost AI infrastructure in India through a newly formed subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence. Reliance and Meta also committed to a joint venture with a combined investment of ₹8.55 billion (about $100 million), with a 70/30 ownership split.
Earlier this week, Google competitor OpenAI announced plans to offer free access to its sub-$5 ChatGPT Go plan to all users in India from November 4.
AI heavyweights like OpenAI and Anthropic are also setting up shop in India, hoping to learn more about local users and increase their reach in the world’s largest emerging market.
Earlier this year, Google is offered Indian students a free one-year subscription to the AI Pro program. This offer lasted until September 15th.
India has already helped drive the adoption of AI platforms under the US and ranks among the top consumer markets for tools such as Google’s Nano Banana, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. Expanding free access to paid versions of AI could further accelerate adoption and cement India’s position as a key growth consumer market for productive AI offerings. However, it remains to be seen how India will translate into meaningful revenue for these AI companies once the current wave of free bundling offers is over.
“Through our collaboration with strategic and long-term partners like Google, we aim to make India not only AI-enabled but AI-enabled — where every citizen and business can leverage smart tools to create, innovate and grow,” Ambani said.
