Glance, a lock-screen platform owned by the InMobi Group, announced on Monday that it will raise $200 million from Reliance’s Jio Platforms Ltd., according to a prepared statement. According to a Reuters report, Glance will be valued between $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion after the investment. The closing of the transaction is subject to conventional closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Along with the proposed investment, Glance has entered into a business partnership agreement with Reliance Retail Ventures, which calls for Glance’s ‘lock screen platform’ to be integrated into JioPhone Next smartphones.
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Glance will benefit from the Jio Platforms investment as it expands globally to regions such as the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Russia. The investment will be used to improve the company’s live content capabilities and to expand its commerce ecosystem.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., India’s largest mobile service provider with over 420 million subscribers, is attempting to expand its customer base with home-engineered JioPhone Next smartphones developed in collaboration with Google. In 2020, the search giant invested $4.5 billion in the company with Meta Platforms Inc.
“Reliance’s strategic investment will lead to a closer collaboration between Glance and the device, commerce, and gaming industries,” said InMobi founder and CEO Naveen Tewari. Glance and Roposo have created a category of live entertainment as well as live commerce through the lock screen, enabling users to consume the internet very differently.”
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Jio made the internet affordable for millions of people, transforming India into one of the world’s biggest internet markets. With the launch of its JioPhone Next smartphones, Reliance is now disrupting the smartphone market. Jio’s investment in Glance, as well as Glance’s presence on the lock screen of JioPhone Next smartphones, will result in a paradigm shift in how its users interact with the internet, according to Tewari.
Tewari, a 44-year-old Harvard Business School alumnus, co-founded InMobi in 2007 with fellow engineering and business-school classmates following a brief stint as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. In 2011, InMobi became India’s first unicorn.
Tewari co-founded Glance InMobi Pte, the Singapore-incorporated subsidiary, in 2019, and it became a unicorn with Google’s backing in December 2020, with a valuation of more than $1 billion. It has a daily user base of 163 million in India and another 25 million in Southeast Asia.
Director of Jio, Akash Ambani, says Glance has grown at a phenomenal rate over the past two years and has given users a unique approach to experience the internet, live content, creator-driven entertainment commerce, and gaming through the lock screen.
Glance expects to launch its app in several key markets around the world and be accessible to millions of Jio subscribers with the investment, affirming its commitment to providing the most cutting-edge technology and digital ecosystem including for consumers in India and around the world, Ambani said.
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