Google partners with Ambani’s Reliance to provide free access to AI Pro to millions of Jio users in India

In a bid to expand its AI footprint in emerging markets, Google has partnered with billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries to bundle its AI Pro subscription with Jio 5G plans at no additional cost.

Google on Thursday announced a partnership with Reliance, India’s largest company by market capitalization, to offer a free 18-month AI Pro subscription to eligible Jio users. The alliance comes just three months after Perplexity teamed up with arch-rival Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, to provide free access to Perplexity Pro to Airtel’s 360 million subscribers.

India, the world’s most populous country and second-largest internet market with more than a billion users, has long been an irresistible target for global technology companies. While the country has yet to see a major domestic AI breakthrough, US tech giants increasingly view it as the next big frontier – a place to collect diverse data, improve models, and test AI use cases that can later be scaled across other emerging markets. The recent partnership between Google and Reliance is a clear reflection of this strategy.

The Jio offer will initially reach users aged between 18 and 25 years before expanding to all Jio subscribers nationwide, the companies said. It includes access to Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro model via the Gemini app, higher limits for AI photo and video creation with Nano Banana and Veo 3.1, expanded use of Notebook LM for study and research, and 2TB of cloud storage via Google Photos, Gmail, Drive, and WhatsApp backups.

“This partnership will also explore offering more delightful local AI-powered experiences to Jio users,” the Indian telecom giant said.

The 18-month offer is worth INR 35,100 (about $396), the companies said. The Google AI Pro plan typically costs INR 1,950 (about $22) per month in India and includes a one-month free trial.

In addition to the consumer offering, Reliance has also partnered with Google Cloud to expand access to Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in India. Reliance Intelligence, the AI ​​subsidiary of Reliance, will become a strategic go-to-market partner for Google Cloud to expand Gemini Enterprise across Indian enterprises, and will develop pre-built AI agents for the platform.

“Today’s announcement will put Google’s cutting-edge AI tools into 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 its investors Google and Meta to boost India’s AI infrastructure through a newly created subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence. Reliance and Meta have also committed to creating a joint venture with a combined investment of INR 8.55 billion (about US$100 million), with ownership split 70/30.

Earlier this week, Google rival OpenAI announced plans to offer free access to its under-$5 ChatGPT Go plan to all users in India starting November 4. The junior category, which launched locally in August, has since expanded to 17 countries across Asia.

AI heavyweights such as OpenAI and Anthropic are also setting up shop in India, hoping to learn more about local users and expand their reach into the world’s largest emerging market.

Earlier this year, Google offered Indian students a free one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan. This offer runs until September 15th.

India has already helped drive adoption of US-led AI platforms, and ranks among the top consumer markets for tools like Google’s Nano Banana, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Anthropic’s Claude. Expanding free access to paid AI versions could accelerate adoption and strengthen India’s position as a key growth consumer market for generative AI offerings. However, it remains to be seen how India will translate into meaningful revenues for these AI companies once the current wave of free bundling offers ends.

“Through our collaboration with strategic and long-term partners like Google, we aim to make India not just AI-enabled but also AI-enabled – where every citizen and organization can harness smart tools to create, innovate and grow,” Ambani said.