How Ambani’s Jio became India’s second-largest company

Key points

• Jio Platforms raised $3.2bn in India's largest-ever IPO, with shares surging 21 percent on Wednesday.
• The IPO valued Jio at $131.5bn, making it India's second most valuable company after Reliance Industries.
• Jio serves more than 530 million customers and counts Meta and Google among its major shareholders.

Jio Platforms, the telecoms-to-digital company owned by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, raised $3.2bn in India's largest-ever initial public offering. The company's shares surged 21 percent on Wednesday, valuing it at $131.5bn and making it the country's second most valuable company, behind its parent Reliance Industries.

The stock market debut was marked in Mumbai with DJ sets, a drone show and a jam session with popular Indian singers. Jio serves more than 530 million customers and counts global tech giants Meta and Google among its major shareholders following their multibillion-dollar investments in 2020.

How Jio reshaped the market

Jio entered India's telecom market in 2016 by offering data free for months, when American consumers were paying an average of about $7 per gigabyte. Its entry required a total investment commitment of nearly $22.48bn, spent on spectrum acquisition, network infrastructure and fibre backhaul.

Backed by Reliance's deep pockets, Jio absorbed initial losses in exchange for accumulating millions of customers. Competitors slashed prices sharply, consumption surged and millions of Indians began accessing the internet on smartphones. Since 2016, Ambani's fortune has grown nearly 3.8 times, an increase of approximately $60bn.

Jio may not be visible. But it pulses through every digital dream of India.

— Anant Ambani

Consolidation and competition

Seven of the 10 incumbent operators exited the market through bankruptcy or merger, including Aircel, Videocon, Telenor India, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications. Today Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea control more than 92 percent of India's telecoms market.

In July 2024, Jio raised prices by approximately 12 to 25 percent across plans, and other operators followed with substantial tariff increases. Jio is also considering deploying a low-Earth-orbit satellite to deliver internet from space, competing with Elon Musk's Starlink, which has sought regulatory approval to enter India for years. Musk accused Modi's government of stalling Starlink's entry to favour Jio, while Reliance said it has "never feared competition".