Chairman Mukesh Ambani unveils draft AI manifesto; outlines plan to transform Reliance Industries

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has unveiled an ambitious “Reliance AI Manifesto” draft

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has unveiled an ambitious “Reliance AI Manifesto” draft, calling artificial intelligence (AI) “the most consequential technological development in human history”. He also outlined a plan to transform the conglomerate into an AI-native deep-tech company while delivering a ten-fold impact on India’s economy and society.

In a message addressed to over six lakh Reliance employees, Ambani said the world had seen only “the tip of the iceberg” of AI’s possibilities, even as its transformative power was already evident. “Along with other breakthrough technologies, AI has the power which, if used wisely, can solve many of the most complex problems facing humankind,” he said, adding that it was Reliance’s responsibility to help shape a better future for India and the world.

The manifesto sets two headline goals: a 10 times improvement in the quality and outcome of work across the workforce, and a 10 times impact through its businesses and philanthropic initiatives. Reliance’s stated motto for the AI era — “Affordable AI for every Indian, to transform every aspect of the economy and life in India” — describing it as the group’s core resolve, the chairman said in the message.

The draft document has been circulated internally for feedback, and is divided into two parts. The first focuses on embedding AI and agentic AI into Reliance’s internal operations, emphasising that the initiative is not about replacing people but about “raising standards and releasing our organisation’s collective potential”. It proposes reorganising work around end-to-end workflows rather than functions, redesigning processes such as procure-to-pay, order-to-cash and plant-to-port with AI embedded to eliminate manual effort, improve decision-making and boost speed and quality.

Reliance plans to anchor this transformation on a common digital architecture, described as a 12-layer Digital Functional Core, with data as the foundational platform and AI acting as an acceleration layer. Strong governance, human accountability and built-in compliance are highlighted as non-negotiable, with Ambani stressing that speed should never come at the cost of safety or integrity.

A key organisational shift outlined in the manifesto is the move towards small, cross-functional “pods” with clear objectives and single-point accountability, aimed at pushing ownership closer to the point of work and accelerating execution.

The second part of the manifesto looks outward, seeking ideas to leverage AI across Reliance’s businesses — from Jio’s 500-million-plus subscriber base and Reliance Retail’s vast supply chains to new energy, life sciences, financial services and media. Ambani also floated the idea of developing indigenous AI hardware, robotics and power-efficient systems to support the country’s technological self-reliance.

Employees have been invited to submit suggestions by January 26, after which the final manifesto will be shaped. “This manifesto will be our shared commitment… to build a new Reliance and a new India of our dreams,” he said