Intel Capital to invest $250m in India’s Jio Platforms

Jio Platforms is the holding company for various internet and telecom assets owned by India's Reliance Industries. Oil-to-broadband conglomerate Reliance Industries, the parent of Jio Platforms, announced the transaction in a statement.

As a result of the capital commitments that are expected to total INR1.1 trillion ($15.5 billion), 11 investors are set to collectively own more than a quarter of the company. The deals are subject to regulatory and customary reviews although India’s antitrust regulator announced last month it had approved Facebook’s investment for a 9.9% stake, the first external investment made in the Indian company back in April.

The investments represent the largest growth capital raising exercise involving an Asian technology company after Ant Financial's $14 billion Series C round, which valued the Chinese company at $150 billion. Reliance says Jio Platforms is valued at INR4.91 trillion ($65 billion). 

Founded in November last year, Jio Platforms is the parent of India's Reliance Jio Telecom, the country’s leading mobile carrier which claims to have more than 387.5 million subscribers. Reliance Industries has positioned Jio Platforms’ app ecosystem as a gateway to the internet for first-time users of mobile internet services.

The offering includes video conferencing app JioMeet, music streaming platform JioSaavn, on-demand movie streaming platform JioCinema, daily goods-themed e-commerce platform JioMart, and cloud storage app JioCloud. They work as mini-apps within the MyJio super app – which is primarily used by Jio Telecom prepaid subscribers to increase the stored value within their account so they can continue to stay connected.

The app ecosystem concept is comparable to those of Indonesia’s Gojek or China’s WeChat. Last week, the platform achieved some criticism after internet users in India pointed out that JioMeet appears to have remarkably similar features and an identical user interface as US video conferencing software service Zoom. Last year, cloud computing service provider Microsoft Azure also established a strategic partnership with Jio Platforms.

Meanwhile, other subsidiaries are also working to expand the company’s presence in broadband services, cable television, and e-commerce as well. It is expected that Jio Platforms will offer a bundled package accessible to Indians currently priced out from high-speed internet and streaming-related content services. At the same time, a network of Jio-branded convenience stores is expected to fulfill online orders on JioMart with inventory supplied by Jio-owned warehouses.

Intel Capital is on track to invest $300-500 million globally in technology companies this year. In India, it has completed more than 80 investments since 1998 achieving 24 exits, according to AVCJ Research. It has also fully deployed the India Technology Fund, a $250 million investment vehicle raised in 2005.

Several media reports have indicated that Reliance plans to explore a public listing for Jio Platforms in the US next year with a target valuation of $90-95 billion.

Reliance Industries, which generates most of its revenue from oil-related activities, has INR3.36 trillion in outstanding debt. The company has declared an ambition to eliminate net debt by the end of the current financial year and raised INR531.2 billion in capital through a discounted rights issue last month.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• South Asia
• Technology
• Expansion
• India
• Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited
• Intel Capital
• Reliance Industries