Jio Platforms Limited is an Indian multinational technology company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Established in 2019, it acts as a holding company for India's largest mobile network operator, Jio, and other digital businesses of Reliance.
In 2020, Jio Platforms raised in exchange for 32.97% equity stake in the company.
History
The telecom network Jio was soft-launched on 27 December 2015 with a beta for partners and employees, and became publicly available on 5 September 2016. It is the largest mobile network operator in India and the third largest mobile network operator in the world with over 42.62 crore (426.2 million) subscribers.
In 2018, Jio Studios, the media content arm of Reliance was established. In September 2019, Jio launched a fibre to the home service, offering home broadband, television, and telephone services.
In October 2019, Reliance Industries announced the creation of a wholly owned subsidiary for its digital businesses including Jio. In November 2019, the subsidiary was named Jio Platforms. The liability of Jio was transferred to Reliance and in turn Reliance received preferential shares of Jio Platforms. According to some observers, the restructuring was done to keep the digital businesses of the group within a debt-free entity.
In April 2020, Facebook acquired a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms for . According to this deal, while Jio Platforms retained , the parent company got the remaining for redeeming the optionally convertible preference shares it held in the subsidiary.
In May 2020, private equity firm Silver Lake Investors obtained a 1.15% stake with a investment in the company. But unlike the previous transaction, the entire investment in this case was retained by Jio Platforms. General Atlantic then announced that it would invest in Jio Platforms for a 1.34% stake in the company. American private equity firm KKR acquired a 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms for .
In June 2020, Emirati sovereign fund Mubadala confirmed that it would acquire a 1.85% stake in the company for . Silver Lake increased its stake to 2.08% with an additional investment. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority then bought a 1.16% stake in the company for . On 13 June, TPG took stake in Jio Platforms of 0.93% worth . L Catterton also made an investment of for a 0.39% stake.
In June 2020, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund confirmed that it would acquire a 2.32% stake in the company for . In July 2020, Intel confirmed that it would acquire a 0.39% stake in the company for . In July 2020, Qualcomm confirmed that it would acquire a 0.15% stake in the company for . This was followed by Google purchase of 7.7% stake in the company for .
In June 2021, Jio Platforms unveiled their Android smartphone named JioPhone Next, with plans to launch in India by September 2021.
In February 2022, Jio Platforms formed a joint venture with satellite operator SES. The newly formed Jio Space Technology Limited will deliver broadband services in India of up to 100 Gbit/s capacity using SES's SES-12 high-throughput geostationary satellite and the O3b mPOWER medium Earth orbit satellite constellation, to extend JPL's terrestrial network, enhancing access to digital services in unconnected areas within India and the region. JPL and SES will own 51% and 49% equity stake respectively in the new company.Jio and SES forge joint venture for satellite-based broadband services across India Computer Weekly. 14 February 2022. Accessed 30 April 2022
In December 2023, Jio Studios decided to back out of producing upcoming Akshay Kumar movies Hera Pheri 3 and Welcome to the Jungle.
In the companies 47th annual general meeting chairman Mukesh Ambani unveiled the Artificial Intelligence platform JIO Brain.
In June 2026, Jio Platforms filed draft documents to go public. The IPO could raise as much as $4 billion and give the company a market cap of more than $100 billion. The draft documents showed the company would use part of the IPO proceeds to reduce its debt burden.
Businesses
Consumer platforms
Jio, telecommunications and broadband services JioMoney, digital currency and payments services JioMart, online grocery delivery services (partnership with Reliance Retail) Jio apps JioTV, live TV streaming app JioSaavn, online music streaming service JioChat, messaging app JioMeet, video-conferencing platform JioGamesCloud, Jio's cloud gaming service JioSphere, web browser JioSwitch, file sharing app JioNews, newspaper and magazine app JioHome, mobile remote control for Jio set-top box JioGate, apartment security app JioCloud, cloud storage services JioSecurity, security app JioHealthHub, health companion JioPOS Lite, Jio recharge commission earning app JioGameslite, online gaming JioSafe, voice and video calling app JioGauSamriddhi, IoT enabled cattle and dairy management JioKrishi, agri IoT services JioNews, news aggregator
Enterprise platforms
JioMeet for Business JioGST
Acquisitions and investments
Several companies acquired by Reliance Industries are now under Jio Platforms:
Name Type Amount StakeRef Haptik AI-based conversational platform $100 million 87% Embibe AI-based educational platform $180 million 72.69% Radisys Telecommunication technology $75 million 100% Fynd Internet marketplace platforms, E-commerce $15 million 87% EasyGov Citizen convenience services $10 million 83%SankhyaSutra Labs Simulation services83%C-SquarePharmaceutical technology platform82%KareXpertDigital healthcare platform₹10croreVideoneticsVideo surveillance technologyCovacsis TechnologiesIOTNEWJMedia₹5croreTwo PlatformsArtificial reality25%
See also List of telecom companies in India List of companies of India
References
Further reading
External links