Intel-Reliance Jio Deal: US semiconductor giant invests Rs 1,894.5 crore in Jio Platforms for 0.39% stake

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday announced that American multinational company Intel will invest Rs 1894.50 crore in Jio Platforms, making it the twelfth high-profile investment in the digital arm of RIL within eleven weeks. The deal will translate into a 0.39 per cent stake for Intel in RIL's digital arm. 

The Intel deal values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

"We are excited to work together with Intel to advance India''s capabilities in cutting-edge technologies that will empower all sectors of our economy and improve the quality of life of 1.3 billion Indians," said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries.

With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 117,588.45 crore from leading technology investors including Facebook, which bought a 9.99 percent stake for Rs 43,574 crore on April 22, Silver Lake Partners (two investments), Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton, PIF and Intel. This makes investment in Jio Platforms the largest continuous by any company in the world.

Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, today has more than 388 million subscribers. This is the largest continuous funds raise by a company anywhere in the world. For some comparison, India's start-up ecosystem raised Rs 1.10 lakh crore last year, in what was its best year.

Wendell Brooks, Intel Capital President, said, "Jio Platforms'' focus on applying its impressive engineering capabilities to bring the power of low-cost digital services to India aligns with Intel''s purpose of delivering breakthrough technology that enriches lives".

"Through this investment, we are excited to help fuel digital transformation in India, where Intel maintains an important presence."

Intel is one of the pioneering companies in the technology space and is known for its innovation, which targets in artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, datacenter and cloud, 5G, next-generation compute and a wide range of other disruptive technologies. Intel Capital, through which the company has invested in Jio Platforms, invests globally in innovative companies with a focus on disruptive technology areas like cloud computing, artificial intelligence and 5G – opportunities.

Jio Platforms has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain.