Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) during its 43rd annual general meeting (AGM) has announced the reeling in of Google as an investor. The company has announced Google will invest Rs 33,737 crore for a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio platforms after all regulations are met. With this, Google will be joining partners like Facebook, Silverlake, KKR, TPG, Intel and Qualcomm, among others.

Google recently said it will be investing $10 billion in India over the next five to seven years. With this investment, the company aims to consolidate its position in the digital ecosystem of the country. The company will be deploying these investments via a mix of investments and partnerships.

RIL’s Chairman & Managing Director, Mukesh D Ambani has announced that with Google’s investment, Reliance has turned completely debt-free. From now, it will only be accepting strategic investments.

To recall, Facebook was the first company to invest in Jio platforms. The investment was announced back in April. It was announced that Facebook would invest $5.7 billion to get a 10 per cent stake in Jio platforms. During the AGM, Ambani announced that the deal has received all regulatory approvals for the deal. With this partnership in place, Jio will tie-up with WhatsApp to help India’s small businesses connect with customers. 

Ambani announced that it has partnered with Google to develop and launch a new 5G supported affordable entry-level smartphone. With Google, the company will develop an operating system based on Android to power this affordable 5G smartphone that the company plans to launch soon.

With the help of Google’s partnership, Ambani said, he wants to make India 2G-mukt (2G free).

Reliance Industries, and Jio Platforms, in particular, deserve a good deal of credit for India’s digital transformation. The pace and scale of digital transformation in India is hugely inspiring for us and reinforces our view that building products for India first helps us build better products for users everywhere. Google is proud to invest Rs 33,737 crore into Jio. I am excited that our joint collaboration will focus on increasing access for hundreds of millions of Indians who don’t currently own a smartphone while improving the mobile experience for all,” said Mr Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet.

“Google has empowered millions of Indians to access helpful information and, like Jio, is a force for change and innovation. We welcome Google onboard and are excited about our partnership for what it can deliver to Indians, from universalising Internet usage to deepening the new digital economy and providing a prime mover to India’s economic growth. Together, we hope to play a strong facilitative role in the transformative journey of building a new, Digital India,” said Mukesh D Ambani. source