As per the deal, both parties will jointly develop smarter and cheaper JioPhone with Android OS for India. The announcement was made by Reliance Industry owner Mukesh Ambani during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2020.

During the event, he said, “Even though we have sold over 100 million JioPhones… there are many feature phone users who are waiting to upgrade to a conventional smartphone, if only it were somehow more affordable. So we have decided to address this challenge.”

Recently, US-based wireless technology company Qualcomm also invested around $97 million in India-based Reliance Jio Platform. The deal will see them acquire a 0.15 percent minority stake in Reliance Jio.

Prior to the Google deal, Reliance Jio had raised more than $15.7 billion in the past 12 weeks from as many investors such as Facebook, Intel and many more.

Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of American chipmaker Intel, has invested around $253.5 million in India’s telecom giant Jio Platforms., the media reported.

The deal will see Intel acquire a 0.39 percent stake in Reliance’s Jio.

In the month of April, Facebook also bought a 10 percent stake in Jio Platforms. The deal follows Facebook’s decision to launch a payment feature for WhatsApp in India.

Launched in 2016, Reliance Jio has established itself as a telecom giant in India in a short spell due to its competitive pricing strategy. Backed by multibillionaire Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Jio disrupted the Indian telecom sector which led to many telcos exiting the market with Vodafone on the brink of shutting down its business in India.

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The deal will see General Atlantic acquire a 1.3 percent stake in Reliance’s telecom unit Jio.

So far, Reliance Jio has amassed investments of around $9 billion, including stakes sold to Facebook, Silver Lake and Vista Equity Partners.

The funds will also support chairman Mukesh Ambani’s vow to pay down more than $20 billion of net debt at Reliance earlier than an initial March 2021 deadline.

Earlier this month, another private equity firm Vista Equity Partners acquired a 2.3 percent stake in Jio in a deal worth $1.5 billion.

The deal makes Vista Equity Partners the largest shareholder in Reliance Jio after Reliance Industry Limited that owns 86.54 percent share in Jio, and Facebook which owns a 9.99 percent stake.

Facebook acquired its stake in Reliance Jio for about $5.7 billion last month.

According to Facebook, it will work closely with the Jio brand and provide innovative ways for businesses in India to help boost its digital economy.

The deal between Facebook and Jio will most likely see JioMart, Jio’s small business initiative, and WhatsApp coming together, to connect small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) in India.

Founder of Facebook and chief executive Mark Zuckerburg said in a statement, “India has more than 60 million small businesses and millions of people rely on them for jobs. With communities around the world in lockdown, many of these entrepreneurs need digital tools they can rely on to find and communicate with customers and grow their businesses.”

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