Nvidia, a US chip firm, and Reliance, a telecom-to-retail giant, have jointly announced a strategic AI partnership. This collaboration aims to develop language models, generative apps, and a cloud infrastructure platform to support AI development within the South Asian nation.

Nvidia will supply the necessary computing power, while Reliance's Jio unit will handle AI infrastructure management, as well as customer engagement, according to the companies.

"Reliance will create AI applications and services for their 450 million Jio (telecom) customers and provide energy-efficient AI infrastructure to scientists, developers and startups across India," Nvidia said.

Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire chairman of Reliance, has previously emphasized the necessity of "digital infrastructure in India capable of handling AI's extensive computational demands."

Nvidia, on a global scale, possesses a near-monopoly on the computing systems employed to fuel services like ChatGPT, OpenAI's highly popular generative AI chatbot. The AI that powers such applications is referred to as a large language model, as it takes a text prompt and generates human-like responses.

Through this partnership, Reliance will gain access to the latest iteration of Nvidia's Grace Hopper Superchip, specifically designed AI chips optimized for performing AI inference tasks that power applications like ChatGPT.

Reliance has stated that the new AI infrastructure will accelerate various vital AI initiatives in India, encompassing chatbots, drug discovery, and climate research.

Neil Shah, a partner at Counterpoint Research, emphasized the significance of Jio's AI endeavors in helping the company make sense of the extensive data it possesses from millions of users. This strategic move positions Jio as a technology firm capable of offering services beyond telecommunications.

"The AI infra will enable it to provide accurate recommendations and cross sell products and services across its giant network of clients in retail, telecom, and financial space," he said.

In an exclusive report, Reuters disclosed that Reliance Industries, the multifaceted conglomerate with interests spanning from oil to retail, is actively contemplating an entry into chip manufacturing within India.

Concurrently, the Tata Group, another prominent Indian conglomerate, is poised to unveil AI collaboration with Nvidia, as confirmed by a source with direct insights into the matter, speaking to Reuters.

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