When it comes to investing in Jio Platforms, Microsoft could be next. Various Indian media outlets are reporting that Microsoft is mulling a $2 billion stake in Jio Platforms. According to two unnamed sources in a story by the Hindustan Times, Microsoft's $2 billion investment would buy it a 2.5% stake in Jio Platforms.
Jio Platforms Limited is a Indian digital services company, and a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited. Established in 2019, Jio Platforms is the umbrella organization over all of Reliance Industries' digital and telecom initiatives. The company owns India's largest mobile network operator, Jio, and other digital businesses of Reliance.
While the Hindustan Times article said that there was no guarantee the investment would go through, Jio Platforms has been a magnet for investments of late. Over the past month, Jio Platforms has snagged investments worth $10 billion from investors such as Facebook, KKR & Co., Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, and General Atlantic.
Foreign investors are flocking to Jio Platforms as a means for tapping into India's expanding digital market. Mukesh Ambani, chairman, managing director and the largest shareholder of Reliance Industries, is prepping Jio Platforms for an initial public offering outside of India according to a story by Bloomberg.
RELATED: India's Reliance teams up with Microsoft Azure on 10-year alliance
Microsoft already has a relationship with Reliance Jio. In August of last year, Reliance Industries announced it had signed a 10-year partnership with Microsoft Azure. As part of the alliance, Jio will build data centers—consisting of next-generation compute, storage and networking capabilities— across India that will be hosted on Microsoft Azure's cloud.
Reliance Jio, which launched four years ago, is locked into competition with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to win over mobile subscribers in India.