Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Becomes Acquires Stake of $4.5 billion In Rliance’s Jio Platform
Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google struck a partnership with Reliance Industries Ltd agreeing to partner on tech initiatives such as the development of inexpensive mobile phones and an investing around $4.5 billion in the Mukesh Ambani led company.
Google acquires a 7.7% stake in Reliance Jio Platforms
According to Mukesh, Google is acquiring a 7.7% stake in Reliance’s digital services division for 337.4 billion rupees. Google CEO Sundar Pichai joined the richest man in Asia to show support for Ambani’s efforts of building an online giant boasting over more than 400 million Indian users.
In recent months, Reliance’s Jio Platforms Ltd has been attracting investment from high profile multinational companies. Google will join the likes of Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC), Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) to be among the companies that have taken an interest in Jio to support its ambitions. Ambani wants to use Jio Platforms in expanding his economic empire to segments ranging from e-commerce to 5G.
On the other hand, Jio is offering the global tech companies a gateway to India’s growing and large online population. The online population rivals that of China, where US services such as Facebook and Google are banned. The executive said that Google, whose Android software operates most smartphones will help Jio in creating an entry-level and inexpensive mobile phone.
Ambani wants to make an online tech giant in India
Ambani told Reliance shareholders in an annual meeting that the digital revolution is the greatest transformation of humanity. He added that India should be leading the race in the transformation, which is the ambition of the Jio Platform.
The backing from Google boosts the credential of Jio in its push to become a leader in content streaming, e-commerce, digital payments, health care, and education in a market of over a billion people. Jio is at the center of the billionaire’s goal of creating a homegrown tech giant similar to Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA). With the latest contribution from Google, Jio has attracted around $20 billion in the past few months.