RIL AGM rings in Jio IPO by H12026, unveils AI pivot

At a power-packed annual general meeting (AGM) of shareholders on Friday, Reliance Industries unveiled its ambitious goal of becoming a deep tech giant with artificial intelligence (AI) at its core, while also setting a definite timeline for the much-awaited listings of Jio Platforms—the company's telecom and digital arm.

- Dev Chatterjee

The Jio initial public offering (IPO) is expected to be among the largest listing in India, with analysts estimating a valuation upwards of $100 billion, positioning it alongside global peers such as Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alphabet Inc.

To spearhead the AI pivot, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of the energy-to-telecom conglomerate, announced the creation of Reliance Intelligence as a growth engine in partnership with tech leaders—Google and Meta Platforms.

The centerpiece of the 48th AGM, however, was the disclosure that Reliance Jio Platforms would go public in the first half of 2026. The digital arm, with 500 million subscribers and revenue of ₹1.28 trillion in FY25, would file for listing once regulatory approvals were in place, Ambani said.

Reliance Intelligence will be a wholly-owned subsidiary tasked with building gigawatt-scale AI-ready data centers powered by renewable energy. It would develop sovereign AI services for consumers and enterprises, while nurturing India's next generation of AI researchers, the company said.

At the AGM, Ambani pledged to more than double earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) by 2028. "In 2022, I made a promise that we will double Reliance by the end of our Golden Decade in 2028. At that time, our Ebitda was about ₹1.25 trillion. I reiterate that Reliance will more than double its Ebitda by the end of its Golden Decade," Ambani said at the online meeting.