Ambani’s Jio Adds Qualcomm to Backers for Digital Services Push

(Bloomberg) -- A Qualcomm Inc. arm will plow as much as 7.3 billion rupees ($97.1 million) into billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s technology venture, taking total investments led by Facebook Inc. and others in Jio Platforms Ltd. to about $15.6 billion since April.

Qualcomm Ventures, which has committed the amount for a 0.15% stake, will support the introduction of 5G wireless networks in India, Jio’s parent Reliance Industries Ltd. said in a July 12 statement. The deal gives Jio an equity value of about $65 billion.

San Diego-based Qualcomm, the biggest maker of chips that power smartphones, will help Jio deliver on the “digital transformation of India,” Ambani said in the statement. Top private equity investors and sovereign wealth funds have also piled into Jio in bets that its 388 million wireless phone subscribers put it in place to lead as services like digital payments, grocery delivery and streaming entertainment expand across India’s population of 1.3 billion.

Here’s a list of investors in Jio Platforms:

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