An American PE That Backed Alibaba And Airbnb Has Turned Bullish On India Amid The Pandemic

In a year that’ll be remembered in history for a devastating pandemic and an unprecedented economic slowdown, an American investor is flooding India with money. Experts believe having this giant in the roster will give Indian firms’ street cred globally. Silver Lake…

Can India’s Legacy Businesses Beat Amazon and Walmart?

From Flipkart versus Amazon to Uber versus Ola, and even Swiggy versus Zomato, India’s internet has so far been a battleground for young local startups and global tech giants—either fighting each other or among themselves.   “The investments from the…

Why The World Needs To Wake Up To India’s Jio

Billion-dollar investments, marquee shareholders, and a business built without any Chinese footprint, India’s 10-month old Jio Platforms appears to have all the right ingredients to become the next big global tech giant.   The biggest strength of Jio Platforms is…

The Race To Build An Indian Social Network

Over the past three months, home-grown variants of short-video social networking apps have cruised through some unusual times. Border tensions and #BoycottChina campaigns had already resulted in a steady uptick in their user base. And then came the ban on 59…

Engagement, User Experience Critical For Homegrown Apps To Succeed

The ban on 59 apps with Chinese links has opened up opportunities for homegrown players to accelerate growth but they will have to ensure good user experience and engagement on their platforms to be successful, according to industry analysts.  …

Ban On ‘Made-in-China’ Apps Gives India’s TikTok Rivals A Boost

India's decision to ban 59 'made-in-China' apps is proving a blessing to local software developers, especially alternatives to video-sharing social networking service TikTok, which until the ban had 200 million users in the country.   Some experts, however, see challenges…

Google-Reliance Partnership Heats Up Indian eCommerce Race

TOKYO -- Google's surprise decision announced on July 15 to invest $4.5 billion into Jio Platforms, the digital business arm of India's biggest family-owned conglomerate Reliance Industries, has so far not been accompanied by any announcement on Google's role in Reliance's…

Reliance Likely To Acquire TikTok In India For $5 billion

India's most valuable company Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is reportedly the latest bidder for the Bytedance-owned TikTok in India. The Mukesh Ambani-led firm had begun talks last month with the Chinese firm to acquire its operations in India. The deal…

Does Acquiring TikTok In India Make Sense For RIL?

Reliance Industries Ltd could gain a deeper connection with consumers by acquiring TikTok in India, but its existing strategic partnership with Facebook — which owns Instagram — could put the deal under the scrutiny of the Competition Commission of India,…

How Tech & Telecom Majors Joining Hands Will Change Content Delivery

The partnership between Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited and Facebook as well as the reported interest of Google in Vodafone-Idea and Amazon starting early investment talks with Bharti Airtel (although both telecom companies denied the reports), are developments poised to blur…

11 Deals For $15 Billion In 10 Weeks: Why India’s Jio Platforms Is On An Investment Spree

Jio Platforms is on a tear. The telecoms and digital arm of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has raised $15.2 billion in 11 deals over two months amid a worldwide pandemic.   “RIL seems to have mastered [dealmaking] better than…

Analysts Tout Benefits Of Possible US IPO For India’s Jio Amid Investment Boom

With everyone clamoring to own a piece of Jio Platforms Ltd., owner of India's largest mobile operator, Jio's parent company may be eyeing an overseas listing. In the next one-to-two years leading up to the IPO, Jio will significantly ramp…

What’s Next In The Jio-Vodafone-Bharti Airtel Rivalry?

India’s top telecom companies—Jio Platforms, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and the state-run BSNL—are in the midst of a phase they have not seen in years. A series of investments flowing into the leading player Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) Jio Platforms…

Making Sense of Reliance-Owned Jio Platforms’ Fundraising Spree

Jio Platforms has raised a whopping USD 13.7 billion from global investors in less than eight weeks, a feat probably no other seven-month-old company has ever achieved anywhere in the world.   Experts believe that it is Jio Platforms’ ability…

In India, a Facebook-led investment spree for Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms

Jio Platforms has only been around in its current form since November, yet the digital arm of oil-to-retail giant Reliance Industries – whose chairman Mukesh Ambani is India’s richest man – has attracted almost US$13.5 billion in investment in the past eight weeks…

Slew Of Investments Make Early Jio IPO Likelier

India's wealthiest man, Mukesh Ambani, may be successful in listing his four-year-old tech commerce-telecom venture, Jio in foreign exchanges, all thanks to $12.5 billion (Rs 92,202 crore) funding raised in just over one and a half months.   “The second…

US Listing And A $100 Billion Valuation For Reliance Jio Likely?

India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani may soon be successful in listing his four-year-old telecom venture Jio in foreign exchanges thanks to the $12.5 billion (Rs 92,202 crore) funding the company has raised in a little over one and a half…

Why Investors Are In Love With Jio

In the past five weeks, amid global economic turmoil, some of the world's largest investors have poured a combined $10 billion into Jio Platforms, an Indian tech company poorly understood outside the country. But why — and why now? Sanchit…

Ambani Reshapes Reliance For Digital India With Jio Deals

TOKYO -- India's struggle against the coronavirus pandemic has not stopped a dealmaking whirlwind at Reliance Industries. As the country has slowed down, its biggest corporation by sales and market capitalization has only seemed to speed up. Since Facebook said…

Microsoft, Saudi Fund May Pick Up Stake In Jio

Smelling opportunity in crisis is, perhaps, an important virtue of the greats and Mukesh Ambani’s fast-growing Jio Platforms is beginning to stand testimony to the same. After attracting investments worth $10 billion (Rs 78,562 crore) in just over a month,…

Jio Mart’s Policy On Privacy, Data Handling May Need Revisit

Jio Mart, Reliance Retail’s answer to Amazon and Grofers, went national Saturday. Given that its success, if it happens, will also depend on sister concern Jio Platforms’ 380 million and growing subscriber base, there are concerns around how privacy and…

JioMart Launches In 200 Locations As Reliance Takes On Bigbasket, Amazon, Others In eCommerce

Less than a month after starting a WhatsApp Ordering Service in Navi Mumbai, Reliance has rolled out JioMart widely. The ecommece platform, which Reliance calls a "single virtual store", will deliver products in 200 towns and cities in India, including…

A Round-Up Of All Reliance Jio Investments And What Follows

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio platform saw a lot of cash inflow into the company. Unlike its competitors, the telecom giant saw a surge of investors. It is venturing into own operating systems, music, OTT and digital payments. After Facebook‘s $5.7…

Facebook Takes Another Shot At eCommerce With Shops Platform

Taking cues from many tech giants, Facebook is now trying to get small businesses to sell directly from its platform. The feature, called Shops, will be rolling out to both Facebook and Instagram and allows pretty much anyone to set…

After Facebook, Microsoft Mulling Investment In Reliance Jio

For the past few weeks, speculations are rife in trading circles regarding a mega-investment deal between Microsoft and Reliance Jio. Observers of the stock market foresee a considerable investment by Microsoft in the telecom giant. Before buying stakes in a…

General Atlantic Invests $870M In Reliance’s Jio Platforms In Its Largest Asia Deal

US private equity giant General Atlantic has invested $870 million (approximately Rs 6,598 crore) in Reliance's Jio Platforms in its largest deal in Asia so far. The investment gives General Atlantic a 1.34 percent stake in Jio Platforms on a…

Investors Keep A Close Watch As Mu Sigma Founder-couple Splits

Even as investors at Mu Sigma keep a close watch on the recent developments within the company, there is a possibility of bringing in professional mangers at the helm of affairs. “In all likelihood, an external professional management will be…