Reliance To Invest $300 Million In Google-Backed Unicorn: Report

Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate is considering an investment to the tune of $300 million in the unicorn backed by Alphabet Inc's Google.

Mukesh Ambani | File Image

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is looking to buy a stake in Indian mobile content provider Glance InMobi Pte. Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate is considering an investment to the tune of $300 million in the unicorn backed by Alphabet Inc's Google, according to Bloomberg sources.

As per the sources, the transaction could be completed in the next few weeks.

Why Glance InMobi attracting investment?

Mobile-advertising entity InMobi pushes curated news and entertainment content onto phone lock screens besides operating a short-video app. The latest investment from Reliance may involve strategic co-operation along with the financial element.

READ: Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale: Huge Discounts On iPhone, Get Flat 20% Off On iPhone 12

The investment in Glance InMobi would give Reliance access to valuable lock-screen real estate on the affordable mobile phones which the company is developing in partnership with Google and is likely to hit the market soon.

Besides this, Reliance will get a strategic entry into short-video content, a category where users are skyrocketing. According to the sources, both entities are deliberating upon the deal and Reliance may even decide not to go ahead with the investment.

Last year, Google has proposed an investment of $4.5 billion in the nation’s largest telecom platform Jio Platforms. The investment included plans for a low-cost smartphone as part of Mukesh Ambani's efforts to build a local technology titan.

The phone was expected to launch this month, but the launch was delayed due to the global shortage of semiconductors.

Founded in 2019, Glance InMobi has almost 130 million daily active users. Its Roposo App offers short videos in a dozen Indian languages. The company, whose backers also include Peter Thiel's Mithril Capital, agreed to acquire e-commerce startup Shop101 in June.