Reliance Industries made an announcement that search giant Google will invest Rs 33,737 crore for a 7.7% stake in its digital arm, Jio Platforms.
“I welcome Google as a strategic partner in Jio Platforms,” Mukesh Ambani said during the company’s first-ever virtual annual general meeting (AGM).Investors from across the world, including Facebook and KKR, have already put in $15.64 billion (roughly Rs. 1.17 lakh crore) for just over 25% in Jio Platforms. The funding spree and a share sale by RIL have helped make India’s biggest company net-debt free.
Google also said it would spend around $10 billion (roughly Rs 75,000 crore) in India over the next five to seven years through equity investments and tie-ups, in its biggest commitment to a key growth market.
As part of the strategic announcement, Google and Reliance Jio Platforms will work on a customized-version of Android operating system to develop low-cost, entry-level smartphones to serve the next hundreds of millions of users, said Ambani
“Getting technology into the hand of more people is a big mission at Google,” said Sundar Pichai, chief executive at Google via a video chat on Wednesday. “Together we are excited to rethink, from the ground up, how millions of users in India can become owners of smartphones. This effort will unlock new opportunities, further power the vibrant ecosystem of applications and push innovation to drive growth for the new Indian economy,” he said.
The new deal further illustrates the opportunities foreign investors see in Jio Platforms that has upended the telecommunications market in India with cut-rate voice calls and mobile data tariffs.
