Google has formed a strategic alliance with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries to provide complimentary access to its AI Pro subscription service for Indian telecommunications customers, marking the latest move by American technology firms seeking dominance in the world's most populous market.

The American search giant announced on Thursday a partnership with Reliance, India's largest company by market capitalization, offering AI Pro subscription access free for 18 months to eligible Jio users. The arrangement arrives three months after rival AI search company Perplexity partnered with Bharti Airtel — India's second-largest telecommunications operator and Reliance's primary competitor—to provide complimentary Perplexity Pro access to Airtel's 360 million subscribers.

India, with over one billion internet users representing the world's second-largest online market, has long attracted global technology companies. Whilst the country has yet to produce a major indigenous AI breakthrough, American technology giants increasingly view it as crucial territory for gathering diverse data, refining models, and testing AI applications potentially scalable across other developing markets. The Google-Reliance partnership clearly reflects this strategic thinking.

The Jio offer will initially reach users aged 18 to 25 before expanding nationwide to all Jio subscribers, according to the company. It includes access to Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro model via the Gemini application, higher limits for generating AI images and videos with Nano Banana and Veo 3.1, expanded Notebook LM usage for study and research, and 2 terabytes of cloud storage across Google Photos, Gmail, Drive and WhatsApp backups.

"This partnership will also explore bringing more delightful local experiences powered by AI to Jio users," the Indian telecommunications giant stated.

The 18-month offer carries a value of 35,100 rupees (approximately £315), according to the companies. Google's AI Pro plan normally costs 1,950 rupees (around £17.50) monthly in India and includes a complimentary one-month trial.

Beyond consumer offerings, Reliance also partnered with Google Cloud to broaden access to Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in India. Reliance's AI subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence, will become a strategic distribution partner for Google Cloud to expand Gemini Enterprise across Indian organizations, whilst developing proprietary pre-built AI agents for the platform.

"Today's announcement will put Google's cutting-edge AI tools in the hands of consumers, businesses, and India's vibrant developer community," said Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Google and parent company Alphabet, in a prepared statement.

At its 48th annual general meeting in late August, Reliance announced partnerships with investors Google and Meta to strengthen its AI infrastructure through a newly created subsidiary, Reliance Intelligence. Reliance and Meta also committed to establishing a joint venture with a combined investment of 8.55 billion rupees (approximately £77 million), with a 70-30 ownership split.

Earlier this week, Google competitor OpenAI announced plans offering complimentary access to its ChatGPT Go plan—priced below $5 monthly—to all Indian users starting 4 November. The entry-level tier, launched locally in August, has since expanded to 17 countries across Asia.

AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, are establishing Indian operations, hoping to understand local users better whilst growing reach in the world's largest emerging market.

Earlier this year, Google offered Indian students complimentary one-year subscriptions to its AI Pro plan through a promotion running until 15 September.

India has already driven the adoption of American-led AI platforms, ranking amongst the top consumer markets for tools including Google's Nano Banana, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Anthropic's Claude. Extending free access to paid AI versions could further accelerate adoption and cement India's position as a key growth market for generative AI offerings. However, how India translates into meaningful revenue for these AI companies once the current wave of complementary bundling offers concludes remains uncertain.

"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 enterprise can harness intelligent tools to create, innovate and grow," Ambani stated.

The promotional strategy reflects intensifying competition amongst technology firms for Indian market share, with companies willing to forgo substantial subscription revenue in exchange for user adoption and data collection opportunities. Whether this approach proves commercially sustainable once promotional periods expire represents a crucial question for the AI industry.

India's price-sensitive market has historically challenged technology companies seeking to convert free users into paying customers. Whilst the country's enormous population offers scale, converting that scale into revenue at price points comparable to Western markets has proved elusive for numerous digital services.

The partnerships also highlight telecommunications operators' evolving role as distribution channels for AI services, with Jio and Airtel competing to differentiate their offerings through exclusive technology partnerships. This dynamic potentially strengthens operators' negotiating positions with technology companies whilst providing subscribers with additional value beyond basic connectivity.

For Reliance, the Google partnership represents the continuation of Ambani's strategy, positioning the conglomerate at the intersection of telecommunications, digital services, and emerging technologies. The billionaire has invested heavily in transforming Reliance from primarily an energy and petrochemicals business into a diversified giant spanning retail, telecommunications, and technology.