Jio Platforms

Jio Platforms 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. Since April 2020, Reliance Industries has raised ₹152,056 crore (US$18 billion) by selling a 32.97% equity stake in the company. In August 2021, it was ranked 155th on the 2021 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's biggest corporations.
Jio 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 second largest mobile network operator in the world, with over 42.62 crore (426.2 million) subscribers.
In September 2019, Jio launched a fibre-to-the-home service, offering home broadband, television, and telephone services. As of September 2020, Reliance Industries has raised ₹1.65 lakh crore (equivalent to ₹1.9 trillion or US$23 billion in 2023) by selling a nearly 33% equity stake in Jio Platforms.
Later, continuing as RIL's telecom subsidiary, Infotel Broadband Services Limited was renamed Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) in January 2013.
In 2014, Reliance Jio Infocomm, the 4G LTE venture of Reliance Industries (RIL), picked up a stake in Israeli telecom network vendor Airspan Networks. Reliance Jio will also source 4G LTE towers from Airspan to deploy 4G services.
In October 2019, Reliance Industries (RI) announced the creation of a wholly-owned subsidiary for its digital businesses, including Jio. In November 2019, the subsidiary was named Jio Platforms. The ₹1.08 trillion (US$13 billion) liability of Jio was transferred to RIL, and in turn, RIL 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 ₹435.74 billion (US$5.1 billion). According to this deal, while Jio Platforms retained ₹149.76 billion (US$1.7 billion), the parent company got the remaining ₹285.98 billion (US$3.3 billion) 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 ₹56.5 billion (US$660 million) investment in the company. However, unlike the previous transaction, Jio Platforms retained the entire investment in this case. General Atlantic then announced that it would invest ₹65.988 billion (US$770 million) 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 ₹113.67 billion (US$1.3 billion).
In June 2020, Emirati sovereign fund Mubadala confirmed that it would acquire a 1.85% stake in the company for ₹90.936 billion (US$1.1 billion). Silver Lake increased its stake to 2.08% with an additional ₹45.47 billion (US$530 million) investment. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority then bought a 1.16% stake in the company for ₹56.84 billion (US$660 million). On 13 June, TPG took a stake in Jio Platforms of 0.93% worth ₹45.468 billion (US$530 million). L Catterton also invested ₹18.945 billion (US$220 million) 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 ₹113.67 billion (US$1.3 billion). In July 2020, Intel confirmed that it would acquire a 0.39% stake in the company for ₹18.95 billion (US$220 million). In July 2020, Qualcomm confirmed that it would acquire a 0.15% stake in the company for ₹7.30 billion (US$85 million). This was followed by Google's purchase of a 7.7% stake in the company for ₹337.37 billion (US$3.9 billion).
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 respectively own 51% and 49% equity stakes in the new company.
In December 2023, Jio Studios decided to back out of producing upcoming Akshay Kumar movies Hera Pheri 3 and Welcome to the Jungle.
In Reliance's 47th annual general meeting, chairman Mukesh Ambani unveiled the artificial intelligence platform, JIO Brain.
RIL has acquired or invested in several companies, which are now under Jio Platforms: