India’s richest man now wants to turn aging computers into AI-ready PCs
TechCrunch Jagmeet Singh
Jio is opening its cloud PC to any internet user in India. It’s meant to turn old laptops into AI-ready machines without buying new hardware.
Based on reporting by TechCrunch, Jagmeet Singh — read the original for the full story.
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Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio is trying to make aging PCs feel new again. On Wednesday, the company opened JioPC to any internet user in India, moving beyond its own broadband customers and selling it as a standalone subscription for people on any telecom or broadband network.
The pitch is simple: stream a virtual computer from Jio’s cloud onto the machine already sitting on your desk. Jio says the service can deliver up to eight virtual CPUs, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and that even computers as old as eight years can get enough power for modern AI apps without a hardware upgrade.
The pricing is aimed at people who would rather pay monthly than replace a machine. The service starts at ₹1,000, or about $11, for two months. A 12-month plan costs ₹4,000, about $42, for 8GB of RAM and 500GB of storage, while the top plan runs ₹5,000, about $53, for 16GB and 1TB.
Jio is making this bet at a moment when PC replacement cycles are already getting longer in India. IDC estimates the country had more than 65 million PCs in use in 2025, and expects that number to reach about 69 million by the end of 2026. But consumers and small businesses are now replacing machines every five to six years, up from four to five years in 2022, while enterprises have stretched replacement cycles to about four years from three.
That gives Jio a neat opening. If people are already holding onto machines for longer, cloud computing can be sold as a way to stretch them even further. The catch is obvious: JioPC depends on a stable internet connection, unlike a normal PC, and it still has to compete with refurbished computers at the low end.
The bigger question is whether users will accept computing as a subscription instead of a box they own. Prabhu Ram of CyberMedia Research thinks JioPC could create a cheaper, parallel market for households, students and others who were never going to buy an AI-capable PC anyway. But he also says the real test is whether cloud computing becomes a daily utility, not just a workaround.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
Jio is selling an old idea with a new slogan: rent the computer, keep the desk. That’s sensible in a market where replacement cycles are stretching out, but it also underlines how much of the AI-PC chatter is just marketing with a better haircut. If the internet drops, the magic stops; hardware still has the annoying habit of existing.
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