Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio is opening up cloud PC services to every internet user in India, positioning it as a way to turn aging computers into AI-enabled machines without upgrading hardware.
Reliance Jio on Wednesday extended JioPC, which was originally launched in July 2025, beyond its own broadband subscribers, making the service available as a standalone subscription to any user with an internet connection, irrespective of their telecom or broadband provider. The service streams a virtual PC from Jio’s cloud to your existing computer, with plans offering up to 8 virtual CPUs, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage.
Jio said the service will allow users to access the computing power needed for modern AI applications, even on computers as old as eight years, without having to replace the machine or install new hardware. Plans start at ₹1,000 (approx. $11) for two months, and a 12-month subscription costs ₹4,000 (approx. $42) for 8GB RAM and 500GB storage, or ₹5,000 (approx. $53) for 16GB and 1TB configurations.
IDC estimates that more than 65 million PCs will be in use in India in 2025, including approximately 34 million consumer and 31 million commercial machines, with the installed base expected to approach 69 million by the end of 2026.
Ambani’s move comes amid an expanding rotation cycle. Indian consumers and small businesses typically replace their PCs every five to six years, but by 2022 it will take four to five years, Bharath Shenoy, senior market analyst at IDC, told TechCrunch. Companies are also seeing longer lifespans for their machines, with replacement cycles reaching around four years instead of the previous three years.
Jio is betting that cloud computing will further extend these lifecycles. By moving much of the processing and storage from devices to data centers, India’s most valuable company can continue to add computing power without requiring users to replace the machines on their desks.
JioPC could create a market where consumers pay for computing power rather than repeatedly spending on hardware upgrades, said Prabhu Ram, vice president of industry research group at Gurugram-based market analyst firm Cybermedia Research.
“Jio is expanding its value proposition by opening up Jio PC to non-Jio users, but at the same time challenging the traditional hardware upgrade cycle,” Ram told TechCrunch.
But he doesn’t expect that model to replace traditional PCs. He noted that JioPC could potentially build a parallel price-oriented tier for “people who weren’t thinking about buying a new AI-enabled PC in the first place,” such as families and students.
Shenoy said Indians traditionally prefer owning hardware rather than paying for a PC as a service. Jio will have to convince consumers that a recurring subscription is worth giving up some of the benefits of a traditional PC, such as the ability to continue operating without the internet.
This dependence is likely to be especially pronounced in smaller cities and towns, where affordable computing has the most room to grow. Unlike traditional computers, JioPC requires a stable internet connection, and any interruptions can affect the user experience.
Additionally, there is competition from refurbished PCs at the low end, allowing consumers to own inexpensive hardware without relying on connectivity, Shenoy said.
Jio’s pitch for “AI-enabled” PCs through JioPC also challenges traditional notions of what an AI PC looks like. The company hasn’t disclosed much about the underlying hardware that powers its cloud services. However, the provided specifications do not mention a key feature of the new generation of AI PCs: dedicated AI accelerators for on-device generated AI workloads.
Moreover, the real test for Jio is whether people will come to think of cloud computing as an “everyday utility” rather than an “opportunistic workaround” and be willing to pay for computing power instead of buying new hardware, Lam said.
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