Google is the latest company to invest in Jio Platforms, the Indian company owned by Reliance Industries which owns the mobile and fibre operator Jio. Google will pay USD 4.5 billion (INR 337.37 billion) for a 7.73 percent stake in Jio Platforms. As part of the deal, the companies will work together on an entry-level smartphone based on Google's Android system to help more Indians get online.
This is the first investment from the Google For India Digitization Fund announced earlier this week. The company joins recent investors Qualcomm, Facebook, Intel, KKR, Mubadala and Silver Lake, among others, in investing in Jio, raising Reliance in total INR 1.52 trillion to date.
Jio has pioneered the so-called smart feature phone in India, working with developers like KaiOS. Its Jio Phone and Jio Phone 2 models have helped bring millions of Indian people online, offering a simple interface with advanced features like VoLTE, high data speeds and popular apps. For Google, the partnership is a way to ensure its Play Store and Google apps become more widespread in India.
