Jio's next decade: Akash Ambani outlines AI, cloud and space connectivity ambitions after blockbuster listing

At a market capitalisation of Rs 12.6 lakh crore, Jio Platforms became India's second most valuable listed company after parent Reliance Industries. Speaking at Jio Platforms' listing ceremony at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Ambani said the company's first decade had been focused on democratising mobile data and making digital connectivity affordable to millions of Indians. He said the next phase would involve making a wider range of technologies accessible across the country.

"In our first 10 years, we democratised data," Ambani said, outlining ambitions to extend that approach to AI, cloud, connected devices, space connectivity and digital services yet to be developed. "We want to democratise every technology that can transform the lives of Indians," he said. Ambani said Jio plans to integrate connectivity, computing and AI to expand its digital services across India, including in regional languages.

He said Jio wanted to ensure that emerging technologies reached people across the country rather than remaining limited to a relatively small section of the population. The strategy builds on Jio's existing telecom infrastructure and its growing digital services businesses. At the company's IPO press conference earlier this month, Ambani had highlighted opportunities to generate additional revenue from customers through digital applications beyond conventional mobile tariffs.

He cited Jio's voice AI service, which offers transcription and summarisation capabilities across 12 Indian languages, as an example of the company's efforts to develop new services. Jio has also outlined plans to monetise its proprietary telecom technology internationally through capital expenditure-light partnerships with operators in developed and developing markets. Ambani said India's position in the global technology industry had changed significantly over the past decade.

"10 years ago, the world largely saw India as a market for technology. Today, India is emerging as its creator," he said. Jio's homegrown platforms now serve more than 540 million customers, he said. The company's expansion ambitions come as Jio Platforms begins its journey as an independently listed company following India's largest IPO. The IPO had attracted overwhelming investor demand, with subscriptions exceeding 22 times the shares on offer.

Ambani described the listing as the beginning of a new chapter for Jio, rather than the culmination of its first decade of growth. He said the company would continue to focus on technology, service quality and execution as it pursued its ambitions in India and international markets.