Samsung courts Reliance, putting spotlight on Asia tech alliances

Samsung chairperson Lee Jae-yong hosted Reliance Industries Ltd chief Mukesh Ambani in Seoul on Tuesday, 25 November, signaling a renewed push to expand cooperation on 6G networks, AI-ready data centers and energy-storage systems.

Samsung said the discussions this week covered next-generation telecom equipment and batteries for data-center stability, with semiconductor collaboration viewed as an adjacent area given Samsung’s AI-infrastructure strategy.

The meeting adds a new chapter to a long-running relationship. Samsung has supplied Reliance Jio with network gear for more than a decade, first winning a turnkey contract in 2012 to build its 4G LTE network and later signing a deal in 2022 to provide 5G radio equipment.

Ambani, whose group is expanding from energy and retail into digital infrastructure, has already launched a subsidiary to develop AI data centers in India alongside global partners Alphabet and Meta.

Analysts said closer ties with Samsung could reinforce that shift by securing a pipeline of network, chip and battery technology as AI workloads grow.

For Lee, the outreach comes amid a wider round of high-profile meetings with global technology leaders as Samsung seeks a bigger role in the AI hardware build-out.

In recent months he has met Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, Hyundai Motor chair Chung Eui-sun and OpenAI’s Sam Altman on topics ranging from AI “factories” to data-center chips and memory supply for large-scale AI projects.

Samsung is trying to expand its customer base and reduce losses in parts of its semiconductor business as competition with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. intensifies.

The company, along with SK Hynix, recently signed supply agreements for memory chips tied to ambitious next-generation AI data-center projects, a market that is rapidly becoming central to the company’s turnaround plan.

The latest talks also reflect Samsung’s aim to anchor itself in India’s long-term infrastructure expansion, particularly as global AI workloads increase reliance on faster memory and more efficient power systems.

Reliance, meanwhile, has been widening its footprint in technology infrastructure. The conglomerate has launched ventures in AI platforms, cloud capacity and data-center operations, backed by investors including Alphabet, Meta, KKR and sovereign funds.

Analysts said deeper coordination with Samsung could strengthen those efforts as Indian conglomerates pour capital into high-growth technology segments amid rising demand for compute, storage and telecom gear.

The alignment between Samsung’s chip and telecom capacity and Reliance’s capital and network scale could influence Asia’s technology roadmap over the next decade, analysts added.