Reliance Industries’ digital unit Jio Platforms has agreed to invest $200 million (~Rs 1,500 crore) in Google-backed AI-driven lock-screen platform Glance’s Series D round of funding. Jio will acquire a 17 percent stake in the company as a result of this investment.
Reliance Jio stated in a statement that the investment is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances. Jio seeks to leverage the proposed investment to boost Glance’s launch in a number of international markets, including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Russia. Both companies aim to expand the world’s largest live content & commerce ecosystem on the lock screen in the long run.
According to two people familiar with the funding from Jio Platforms Ltd. values the startup at around $1.7 billion. Glance is also backed by Google and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital. Glance has also struck a business collaboration with Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), in addition to receiving funding from Jio Platforms. Glance will integrate its ‘lock screen platform’ into JioPhone Next smartphones as part of this deal, bringing millions of JioPhone Next users a new lock screen experience. Reliance Jio and Google partnered on the development of the JioPhone Next smartphone, which was launched in November of last year in India.
Akash Ambani, Director of Jio Platforms Ltd. (JPL), commented on the investment saying, “With the help of this investment, Glance expects to launch in several key markets globally as well as extend the experience to millions of Jio users, further reinforcing our commitment to provide the most advanced and next-level tech and digital ecosystem for consumers in India and beyond.”
Glance, which was founded in 2019, claims that its lock screen platform is installed on over 400 million devices across Asia. It provides news, sports, entertainment, and games on a wide range of smartphones. The Glance app comes pre-installed on a handful of smartphones brands including Samsung, Xiaomi, and Vivo. Glance, headquartered in Singapore, claims to have more than 163 million users in India and 25 million users in Southeast Asia.
It claims that the average user spends around 25 minutes on average per day on the platform. It has four business divisions including – Glance Lock Screen, Glance Collective, Roposo, and Shop101. The platform’s content is available in a wide range of regional and international languages, including English, Bangla, Indonesian Bahasa, Hindi, Tamil, and Thai from Thailand.
“Jio’s investment into Glance and Glance’s presence on the lock screen of JioPhone Next smartphones,” says Naveen Tewari, founder, and CEO of InMobi Group, “will lead to a paradigm shift in how its users experience the internet.” InMobi Group’s Glance is a non-consolidated subsidiary. InMobi Group, founded by Naveen Tiwari, was the first Indian startup to join the exclusive unicorn club in 2011.
Morgan Stanley acted as Glance’s exclusive financial advisor, and Khaitan & Co. represented as its legal counsel. Jio Platforms’ legal counsels were White & Case and K Law, and Ernst & Young handled accounting and tax due to diligence services.
