Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio is opening its cloud PC service to any internet user in India, positioning it as a way to turn aging computers into AI-ready machines without hardware upgrades.
Who can use it
On Wednesday, Reliance Jio expanded JioPC, originally launched in July 2025, beyond its own broadband subscribers. The service is now available as a standalone subscription to users with an internet connection, regardless of their telecom or broadband provider. The system streams a virtual PC from Jio’s cloud to an existing computer. Plans offer up to eight virtual CPUs, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage.
Cost and specs
Jio claims the service can give even computers as old as eight years access to the computing power needed for modern AI applications. Users do not need to replace their machines or install new hardware. Plans start at ₹1,000, roughly $11, for two months. A 12-month subscription costs ₹4,000, around $42, for 8GB of RAM and 500GB of storage. The 16GB and 1TB configuration costs ₹5,000, about $53.
Market context
India had more than 65 million PCs in use in 2025. This figure includes about 34 million consumer and 31 million commercial machines, according to estimates from IDC. The firm expects the installed base to approach 69 million by the end of 2026.
Changing replacement cycles
Ambani’s move comes amid widening replacement cycles. Consumers and small businesses in India typically replace their PCs every five to six years. This is a shift from four to five years in 2022. IDC’s senior market analyst Bharath Shenoy told TechCrunch about the change. Enterprises are stretching their machines for longer too. Replacement cycles for businesses are reaching about four years, up from three previously.
The cloud strategy
Jio bets that cloud computing can stretch those lifecycles further. The company shifts much of the processing and storage away from the device and into its data centers. India’s most valuable company can keep adding computing capacity without requiring users to replace the machines sitting on their desks.
Industry reaction
Prabhu Ram, vice president of the industry research group at the Gurugram-based market analyst firm CyberMedia Research, said JioPC could create a market where consumers pay for computing capability rather than repeatedly spending on hardware upgrades.
“Jio is broadening its value proposition by opening JioPC to non-Jio users, while also challenging the traditional hardware upgrade cycle,” Ram told TechCrunch.
However, he does not expect that model to replace conventional PCs. JioPC could create a parallel, price-sensitive tier for households, students and others. These are the groups for whom buying a new AI-capable PC was never really on the table to begin with.
Barriers to adoption
Indians have traditionally preferred owning their hardware over paying for PCs as a service, Shenoy said. Jio will have to convince consumers that a recurring subscription is worth giving up some of the advantages of a conventional PC. One key advantage is the ability to keep working without the internet.
That dependence could be particularly prominent in the smaller cities and towns where affordable computing has the most room to grow. JioPC requires a stable internet connection. Any disruption can affect the user experience, unlike a conventional computer.
Additionally, there is competition at the low end from refurbished PCs. Shenoy said these allow consumers to own inexpensive hardware without remaining dependent on connectivity.
Defining an AI PC
Jio’s pitch of an “AI-ready” PC through JioPC also challenges the conventional idea of what an AI PC looks like. The company has not disclosed much about the underlying hardware powering the cloud service. The specifications it has provided do not mention dedicated AI accelerators for on-device generative AI workloads. This is a key feature of the new generation of AI PCs.
Ram noted the real test for Jio is whether people come to see cloud computing as a “daily utility” rather than an “opportunistic workaround.” Users must be willing to pay for computing power instead of buying new hardware.
What it means
The service offers a way to extend the life of existing hardware, but it relies entirely on a stable internet connection. This creates a trade-off between cost savings and the ability to work offline, which remains a distinct advantage of owning a physical machine.
