Google partners with Ambani’s Reliance to offer free AI Pro access 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’s Reliance Industries to bundle its AI Pro plan with Jio 5G plans at no additional cost.

Thursday Google announced partnered with Reliance, India’s largest company by market capitalization, to offer its AI Pro subscription free for 18 months to eligible Jio users. The alliance comes just three months after Perplexity partnered with Reliance’s archrival 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 the second-largest internet market with more than a billion users, has long been an irresistible target for global tech companies. While the country has yet to see a major domestic AI breakthrough, U.S. tech giants are increasingly viewing it as the next great frontier: a place to collect diverse data, refine models, and test AI use cases that could later be expanded in other emerging markets. The latest partnership between Google and Reliance is a clear reflection of that strategy.

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

“This partnership will also explore how Jio users can get more delightful local experiences powered by AI,” the Indian telecom giant said.

The 18-month offer is valued at ₹35,100 (approximately $396), the companies said. Normally Google’s AI Pro plan costs ₹1,950 (approximately $22) per month in India and includes a one-month free trial.

In addition to the consumer offering, Reliance also partnered with Google Cloud to broaden access to its tensor processing units (TPUs) in India. Reliance’s AI subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence, will become a strategic go-to-market partner for Google Cloud to extend Gemini Enterprise to Indian organizations and will develop its own pre-built AI agents for the platform.

“Today’s announcement will put Google’s advanced 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 its investors Google and Meta to strengthen its AI infrastructure in India through a newly formed subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence. Reliance and Meta also committed to set up a joint venture with a combined investment of ₹8.55 billion (approximately $100 million), with 70/30 ownership split.

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

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

Earlier this year, Google made offered Indian students get a free annual subscription to the AI ​​Pro plan. That promotion ran until September 15.

India has already contributed to the adoption of US-led AI platforms and is 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 AI versions could further accelerate adoption and strengthen India’s position as a key growing consumer market for generative 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 runs its course.

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