Search engine giant Google is going to invest $4.5 billion which is about a 7.7% stake in Reliance Jio platforms very soon. Reliance Jio is an Indian internet giant that provides broadband, smartphones, and is an online commerce platform. This investment comes under the plan of Google of investing around $10 Billion in India over a period of 5 to 7 years. This investment is coming from the fund of google dedicated to the better digitization in India.
Earlier Facebook also plans to invest $5.7 billion taking around 9.9 percent stake in the Jio company and Google is following the same move as that of Facebook.
As a part of at present’s announcement, Google says that it’s working with Jio on an “entry-level reasonably priced smartphone.” Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani stated this work will contain making a custom-made model of Android designed for low-cost, entry-level smartphones. It’s unclear how this challenge pertains to Google’s present model of Android designed for low-powered gadgets, Android Go.“We’re excited to rethink, from the bottom up, how hundreds of thousands of customers in India can turn into owners of smartphones”
Google says it hopes to make use of its funding in Jio to deliver smartphones to extra customers in India. It notes that almost all of the individuals within the nation don’t have entry to the web and that fewer nonetheless personal smartphones. A partnership with Jio, which reportedly has round 400 million subscribers, might assist speed up Google’s efforts. “Collectively we’re excited to rethink, from the bottom up, how hundreds of thousands of customers in India can turn into homeowners of smartphones,” Google stated in its announcement.
The funding within the Indian internet giant comes as India is trying to scale back its reliance on Chinese language companies. The final month, the nation banned 59 Chinese-based apps and companies from the nation, together with TikTok and WeChat.