In the past six weeks, Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms, has received multiple investments that further pushes the digital vision which the technology company has, particularly for India. The Abu Dhabi based sovereign investors Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) has invested Rs 9,093.60 Crore in Jio Platforms, for a 1.85% equity stake. This is the sixth big investment in Reliance Industries’ Jio Platforms following investments from KKR, General Atlantic, Facebook, Silver Lake Partners, Vista Equity Partners and Facebook over the past few weeks. Alongside the incoming investments, Reliance Jio has also made its technology platforms more robust with new announcements and launches through the year.
Earlier, Jio had announced the formal launch of JioMeet, its video conferencing solution. JioMeet will be a part of Jio Platforms, and the rollout coincided with the COVID lockdown when video meeting apps were a necessity as work from home became the new reality for many. It will be available on the Google Play Store for Android devices, the Apple App Store for the iPhone, iPad and Mac devices as well as the Microsoft Store for Windows devices. On the Google Play Store, JioMeet already has over 100,000 installs, even before the service was commercially announced.
The company also recently announced the rollout of JioMart, where consumers can now get access to the nearest Kirana and departmental stores and order online. The service is said to be now live across 200 cities and towns in India including major metro cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. Reliance is yet to launch a dedicated app, but a website (www.jiomart.com) is already live and accepting orders. The platform will be relying heavily on WhatsApp, the most popular instant messaging app in India, and indeed around the world. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, the largest social media company in the world.
JioMart is the company’s new online destination for grocery shopping powered by Reliance Retail's Smart and Fresh stores. The website offers a variety of categories including fruits and vegetables, dairy and bakery, personal care, home care and baby care, and more. The service is charging a delivery fee of Rs 25 if a customer places an order of less than Rs 750. The new service has been in the test run phase for the past few months serving in several areas of Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. JioMart had also launched a WhatsApp business account, through which customers could add a number to their contact and place an order. The WhatsApp service is limited to select pin codes. Reliance has also started signing up small kirana stores which would allow customers to order online and get groceries delivered from their neighbourhood shop.
Reliance Jio says this investment by Mubadala Investment Company further reinforces the recognition of the world-class digital platform that Jio has built, powered by leading technologies, such as Broadband connectivity, Smart Devices, Cloud and Edge Computing, Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Augmented and Mixed Reality and Blockchain. This investment will give Jio Platforms a solid foundation to build on, towards what Reliance Jio says is a Digital India vision for 1.3 billion people and businesses across the country, including small businesses, micro-businesses and farmers.
Disclaimer: News18.com is part of Network18 Media & Investment Limited which is owned by Reliance Industries Limited that also owns Reliance Jio.
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