Jio Platforms to invest US$200 million in Glance

Jio Platforms to invest US$200 million in Glance

Investment to expedite Glance’s vision of bringing Internet to Smartphone Lock Screens Globally

Highlights:

• Glance is disrupting the way internet is experienced by bringing it directly on the lock screen – removing the need for search and breaking barriers of downloading apps
• It will use the funds raised to double down on growth in Asia as well as launch in key global markets including USA, Brazil, Mexico and Russia
• Glance will be integrated into the revolutionary Pragati OS, which has been co-developed by Jio Platforms and Google, to bring LIVE content on Lock Screen for millions of Jio users
• Glance’s entertainment-led commerce platform Roposo will bring the power of Live creator commerce to Jio users on their lock screen

Glance, a leading AI-driven lock-screen platform, announced today that it has agreed to raise US$200 million from Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio”) in its Series D round of funding. The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

The proposed investment by Jio is aimed at accelerating Glance’s launch in several key international markets outside of Asia such as the USA, Brazil, Mexico and Russia. The company is aiming to create the world’s largest live content and commerce ecosystem on the lock screen and will use the funds raised to expand globally. In addition to Jio Platforms, Glance is also backed by technology giant Google and Silicon Valley-based venture fund Mithril Capital.

Concurrent with the proposed investment, Glance has also entered into a business partnership arrangement with Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (“Reliance Retail”), providing for Glance’s ‘lock screen platform’ to be integrated into the JioPhone Next smartphones to transform the internet experience for millions of Jio users. This is the latest in a series of strategic partnerships between Glance and global players in the mobile ecosystem. The deal is also expected to lead to further strategic collaborations between Glance, Reliance Retail and Jio across devices, commerce, content and gaming ecosystem.

Today, Glance’s lock screen platform is present on more than 400 million devices across markets in Asia. Glance has made it possible for users to experience the best of the internet without searching, downloading any apps or even unlocking their phones. It has accomplished this by pioneering personalized, AI-driven content, live entertainment commerce and gaming on the lock screen.

Jio is pioneering the digital services ecosystem in India with a transformational impact on the Indian digital ecosystem over the last 5 years. Jio aims to support innovation, enterprise and solutions in the tech-digital space and has emerged as one of the most active digital accelerators for the Indian market, having backed several exciting next-level technologies and entrepreneurial teams.

Speaking about its investment in Glance, Akash Ambani, Director, Jio Platforms Limited, said, “Glance has grown at a phenomenal pace over the past two years and has given users a truly unique solution by unlocking the power of the lock screen for experiencing the internet, live content, creator driven entertainment commerce and gaming. 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.”

Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO of InMobi Group, said, “Mr. Mukesh Ambani has been a source of immense inspiration for me since my early days and it is an honor to have Jio becoming a strategic partner in our journey. Jio’s investment into Glance brings a deep synergy of vision and philosophy. Jio is a truly disruptive company. It made internet accessible for millions of users, making India one of the largest internet markets in the world. Reliance is now disrupting the smartphone market with launch of its JioPhone Next smartphones. Jio’s investment into Glance and Glance’s presence on the lock screen of JioPhone Next smartphones will lead to a paradigm shift in how its users experience the internet.

Piyush Shah, Co-founder of InMobi Group and President & COO of Glance, said, “Glance has created a disruptive lock screen-first discovery platform for live content, commerce and gaming in Asia, and we intend to scale it globally going forward. Jio’s investment is a huge validation of this vision and gives us the firepower to take the innovative experience of Glance to surfaces across the world. We look forward to working with Jio to build the content, creator and commerce ecosystem of the future, together.”

Morgan Stanley acted as the exclusive financial advisor and Khaitan & Co. acted as the legal counsel to Glance. White & Case and K Law acted as the legal counsels and Ernst & Young provided accounting and tax due diligence services to Jio Platforms.

About Jio Platforms Limited

Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio”), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, has built a world-class all-IP data strong future proof network with latest 4G LTE technology (through its wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited). It is the only network conceived and born as a Mobile Video Network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE technology. It is future ready and can be easily upgraded to support even more data, as technologies advance on to 5G, 6G and beyond. 

Jio has brought transformational changes in the Indian digital services space to enable the vision of Digital India for 1.3 billion Indians and propel India into global leadership in the digital economy. It has created an eco-system comprising of network, devices, applications and content, platforms, service experience and affordable tariffs for everyone to live the Jio Digital Life. As part of its customer offers, Jio has revolutionised the Indian telecom landscape by making voice calls for Jio customers absolutely free, across India, to any network, and always.

About Glance

Founded in 2019, Glance is a consumer internet company that has created two of the most disruptive digital platforms – Glance and Roposo. Glance has redefined the way internet is consumed on the lock screen, removing the need for searching and downloading apps. Over 400 million smartphones now come enabled with Glance’s next generation internet experience. Roposo has revolutionized commerce by launching a destination for creator-led live entertainment commerce. Headquartered in Singapore, Glance is an unconsolidated subsidiary of InMobi Group and is funded by Google and Mithril Capital. For more information visit glance.com, roposo.com and inmobi.com