Akash Ambani charts Jio’s next phase of growth with satellites, 6G and AI

Two weeks before Jio Platforms' IPO, Akash Ambani used the India Mobile Congress to set out where the company plans to build its next layer of capability: satellite communications, pre-6G intellectual property and AI embedded in its core voice and data services.

The 10th edition of IMC was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8 in New Delhi under the theme "Scale Without Boundaries", according to TelecomTalk¹. Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, outlined the three priorities on the sidelines of the event.

A sovereign satellite play

Ambani toldNewsKerala² that Jio is developing an indigenous satellite communications stack based in India. The stack has been demonstrated to the communications minister and Jio is moving ahead on regulatory approvals, reported Entrepreneur India³. Ambani positioned the satellite as an extension of Jio's broadband strategy, with home broadband as a primary use case, and did not give a launch timeline at the event, the report said.


Jio's display gave a sense of the scale involved. As per TelecomTalk⁴, Jio showcased a proposed constellation of around 1,600 low-earth-orbit satellites and 23 ground stations across India, targeting more than 600,000 villages, including maritime and border areas. Jio described both figures as part of a proposed plan, the report noted.

Pre-6G patents and the deep-tech base

On 6G, Ambani told ANI, "In fact, in our pre-6G time, we've already filed for patents." He tied the filings to the government's target of 10% of global 6G patents originating in India, saying Jio would contribute heavily to that goal.

The filings sit within a growing IP portfolio. According to company figures reported by FinTech BizNews⁵, Jio Platforms had filed 6,817 patents as of March 31, 2026, of which 1,009 had been granted, and entered WIPO's global top 20 for international patent filings. Ambani, as managing director of Jio Platforms, said the ranking reflected years of work towards becoming a deep-tech company, the report said.

AI in core services, and the export pitch

Ambani told NewsKerala that Jio sees scope to use AI to innovate on traditional voice and data services for Indian consumers. The underlying platform predates IMC. In 2024, Jio Platforms unveiled JioBrain, an AI platform developed over two years by hundreds of engineers that offers machine learning as a service across telecom and enterprise networks, as TelecomTV reported⁶. Jio has positioned it as groundwork for 6G.

Jio's IMC showcase also pointed to products aimed beyond its own network. According to TelecomTalk⁷, these included AI-native, self-healing networks offered to other operators, a telecom stack pitched as an alternative to established global vendors, the Jio Education Stack, AI wearables, an enterprise AI stack and JioAIHome.

Ambani expanded on these themes at the Jio IPO media meet in Mumbai a week later. He cited AI voice tools for transcription and summarisation across 12 Indian languages that Jio's reach could deliver at scale, and plans to offer Jio's technology to international operators as a managed service rather than as standalone software or equipment. He put the company's patent filings at more than 7,220, backed by over 12,000 engineers, and said Jio has around 30 million home broadband customers, with its network reaching nearly 40 million of India's roughly 300 million households.

Ambani has been chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm since June 2022, according to Quartz⁸. At IMC, he described the upcoming listing as "a great responsibility", as Entrepreneur India reported.
For investors, the IMC roadmap adds a set of longer-dated bets to Jio's core connectivity business. The satellite constellation remains a proposal without a launch timeline, the 6G patents precede a technology still being defined, and the AI voice tools were outlined as plans. How quickly each moves from roadmap to revenue will be one of the questions the market tracks once Jio Platforms is listed.

References:

1. https://telecomtalk.info/imc2026-jio-plans-satellite-network-connect-600000villages/1012635/
2. https://www.newkerala.com/news/a/jio-developing-indigenous-satellite-technology-filing-pre-6g-patents-740.htm
3. https://india.entrepreneur.com/business-news/akash-ambani-pushes-for-indigenous-tech-stack-at-imc-2026
4. https://telecomtalk.info/imc2026-jio-plans-satellite-network-connect-600000villages/1012635/
5. https://fintechbiznews.com/fintech-technology/jio-platforms-in-global-top-20-in-wipo-patents
6. https://www.telecomtv.com/content/ai/jio-platforms-unveils-its-jiobrain-ai-platform-49512/
7. https://telecomtalk.info/imc2026-reliance-jio-showcases-india-built-ai/1012596/
8. https://qz.com/india/2183249/akash-ambani-becomes-the-new-chairman-of-rils-reliance-jio