New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd is entering a big step into enterprise artificial intelligence when it announces a joint venture with Facebook’s Meta
platform. The new company, Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Ltd (REIL), will be dedicated to the development, sale, and distribution of AI business services. Under this arrangement, the equity contribution will be 30 percent by Meta, which will be through its wholly-owned subsidiary Facebook Overseas, and 70 percent by Reliance Intelligence, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries.
The two firms have equally invested Rs 855 crore ($100 million) as a venture. The 20 lakh shares of 10 each, which will cost 2 crore to incorporate, are already subscribed to by Reliance Intelligence to include REIL. The establishment of the new entity did not require any regulatory approvals, and this spelt out easy sailing ahead in the collaboration.
Strategic partnership with Meta
REIL is a major partnership between the biggest conglomerate in India and the technology giant in the world. The joint venture contract stipulates that Reliance will still have the majority control, and Facebook will introduce its skills in AI technology and enterprise solutions. Its collaboration is focused on propelling the transition to AI services in Indian businesses and providing solutions in the fields of analytics, automation, and data-driven decision-making.
Focus on enterprise AI
The new company will act as an environment to create and sell AI products based on enterprise clients. Reliance and Facebook are likely to capitalise on their advantages, where Reliance has its domestic market, and the latter has strong AI features. Analysts consider this as one of the most important steps towards Reliance diversifying into technology-orientated services and strengthening the role of Meta in the enterprise part of the Indian market.
The establishment of REIL is an indication of Reliance Industries’ seriousness in entering the enterprise AI arena in a major way. The business will launch AI-related solutions to serve businesses of various scales, which will match the increasing need for digital transformation in any industry.
