The Richest Indian-Owned Company Is Emerging As A Pivotal Player In India's Startup Ecosystem

Last month, the music streaming arm of telecom company Jio, Reliance Jio Music, and music and audio streaming service Saavn merged to jointly strengthen their foothold in the digital music market, which is expected to cross $460 million (Rs.3,100 crore) in revenue by 2020. The two music streaming companies will be integrated into a combined $1 billion entity that leverages the media streaming expertise of Saavn with the 4G internet connectivity of telecom company Jio. Soon after the announcement of this merger, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), also agreed to pick up a 72.69% stake in the AI-based online education startup Embibe, with a proposal to invest $180 million over the next three years. This foray of India's petrochemical giant Reliance in the startup industry was the culmination of a plan put into motion in 2016, when RIL's owner, the richest Indian on Forbes Billionaires 2018 list, Mukesh Ambani, addressed its 42nd annual general meeting in Mumbai. During the address he stated that Reliance Industries was setting up a $743 million (Rs.5,000 crore) fund, called the Jio Digital India Startup Fund, to invest in digital businesses.