Aiming to strengthen its AI presence in developing regions, Google has joined forces with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries to include its AI Pro subscription with Jio 5G plans at no additional charge.
On Thursday, Google revealed its collaboration with Reliance, India’s top company by market value, to provide eligible Jio customers with complimentary access to its AI Pro subscription for 18 months. This partnership follows Perplexity’s recent deal with Reliance’s main competitor, Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom provider, which granted Airtel’s 360 million users free access to Perplexity Pro just three months ago.
With over a billion internet users, India is not only the world’s most populous country but also the second-largest online market, making it highly attractive to global technology companies. Although India has yet to produce a major AI innovation of its own, American tech leaders increasingly see it as a vital market—one where they can collect varied data, enhance their models, and experiment with AI applications that could be scaled to other developing regions. The new alliance between Google and Reliance clearly demonstrates this approach.
According to the companies, the Jio offer will first be available to users aged 18 to 25, before being rolled out to all Jio customers across India. The package features access to Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro model through the Gemini app, increased quotas for creating AI images and videos using Nano Banana and Veo 3.1, expanded Notebook LM usage for academic and research purposes, and 2 TB of cloud storage spanning Google Photos, Gmail, Drive, and WhatsApp backups.
“This collaboration will also look into introducing more enjoyable AI-powered local experiences for Jio customers,” the Indian telecom leader stated.
The 18-month subscription is valued at ₹35,100 (roughly $396), according to the companies. Google’s AI Pro subscription typically costs ₹1,950 (about $22) per month in India and comes with a complimentary one-month trial.
In addition to the consumer deal, Reliance has also teamed up with Google Cloud to expand access to its tensor processing units (TPUs) within India. Reliance’s AI arm, Reliance Intelligence, will act as a strategic partner for Google Cloud to help introduce Gemini Enterprise to Indian businesses and will create its own ready-made AI agents for the platform.
“Today’s announcement will bring Google’s advanced AI solutions to consumers, enterprises, and India’s dynamic developer ecosystem,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, in a formal statement.
During its 48th annual general meeting in late August, Reliance revealed new partnerships with investors Google and Meta to boost its AI infrastructure in India through its newly established subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence. Reliance and Meta also agreed to form a joint venture with a combined investment of ₹8.55 billion (around $100 million), with a 70/30 ownership division.
Earlier this week, OpenAI, a competitor to Google, announced it would offer all Indian users free access to its ChatGPT Go plan, which costs less than $5, starting November 4. This entry-level plan, which launched in India in August, has since expanded to 17 countries throughout Asia.
Major AI players such as OpenAI and Anthropic are also establishing a presence in India, aiming to better understand local users and expand their influence in the world’s largest emerging market.
Earlier this year, Google provided Indian students with a complimentary one-year subscription to its AI Pro plan, a promotion that ended on September 15.
India has already played a significant role in driving the adoption of AI platforms led by U.S. companies and is among the leading markets for tools like Google’s Nano Banana, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Anthropic’s Claude. Offering free access to premium AI services could further boost adoption and solidify India’s status as a crucial growth market for generative AI. However, it remains uncertain how these free offers will eventually convert into substantial revenue for AI firms once the promotions conclude.
“By working with trusted, long-term partners like Google, our goal is to make India not just AI-ready but AI-powered—enabling every individual and business to use intelligent technologies to create, innovate, and thrive,” Ambani stated.
