In the course of the RAISE 2020, Reliance Group head honcho Mukesh Ambani stated, “AI and different related applied sciences of the fourth Industrial Revolution will vastly broaden our capability to resolve probably the most complicated and urgent issues earlier than India and the world.” He additionally added that AI will assist India in shifting sooner towards reworking India right into a high-growth economic system on its option to USD 5 trillion.
Ambani’s optimism within the know-how is effectively supported by Reliance Group’s funding technique within the subject of synthetic intelligence. Reliance’s digital clout is rising within the nation, a lot in order that it has raised fears of a monopoly. Many imagine that Reliance is aggressively scouting for AI and NLP firms within the digital area in a bid to create an Indian equal of FAANG – Fb, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google.
Investments and acquisitions
A 2018 media report stated that Reliance Industries and its auxiliaries had put aside USD 2 billion for its multi-design technique method to remodeling right into a Know-how and Innovation powerhouse. This technique entails spending USD 1.6 billion on buying stakes in technology-driven firms located in several international locations, together with the USA, the UK, and India. The remaining quantity could be directed in direction of creating in-house tech in synthetic intelligence, machine studying, blockchain, augmented actuality, Web of Issues, robotics, and Large Knowledge analytics, amongst different rising applied sciences.
Earlier this 12 months, Reliance Industries invested USD 15 million in Silicon Valley-based Two Platforms to take over a 25 per cent stake within the firm. A deep-tech firm based by Pranav Mistry in 2021, Two Platforms is constructing interactive and immersive AI experiences. This AI platform permits real-time AI voice and video calls, digital people, and lifelike gaming. In a press release, the Director of Jio, Akash Ambani, had then stated that this funding would assist in expediting the event of latest merchandise within the areas of interactive AI, immersive gaming, and the metaverse.
In the identical month, Reliance Jio Platforms, the tech arm of Reliance, invested USD 200 million in InMobi’s cellular content material startup Look. This firm makes use of algorithms to ship personalised information, leisure content material and reside movies, making them accessible proper on the smartphone lock screens. Look can be backed by Google and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s Silicon Valley-based enterprise fund Mithril Capital.
In January, Reliance made an funding of a whopping USD 132 million with a majority stake in robotics firm Addverb Applied sciences. The Noida-based startup is without doubt one of the few firms on this planet that work on each side of robotics. Publish the funding, the full valuation of the corporate stood at USD 270 million. Even earlier than the funding, Addverb’s creations have been adopted throughout Reliance’s completely different companies, together with JioMart, Ajio, and Netmeds.
Final 12 months, Reliance invested USD 8 million in California-headquarter NetraDyna, an AI startup which focuses on business fleet security. Based by former Qualcomm India & South Asia president Avneesh Agrawal and his Qualcomm colleague David Julian, NetraDyne has developed Driveri, vision-based driver retention and security platform for business autos. In 2016 too, Reliance had invested USD 16 million within the firm. With the mixed worth of the 2 investments, Reliance now owns a 37.4 per cent stake within the startup.
One other main funding made by Reliance was in 2019 when Reliance Jio Digital Companies entered right into a strategic transaction with the dialog AI platform Haptik. In a press release, the corporate stated that the transaction dimension was estimated to be Rs 700 crore, with Rs 230 crore thought of for the preliminary enterprise switch. At the moment, Akash Ambani had stated that this funding would enhance the digital ecosystem and provide customers conversational AI-enabled gadgets with multi-lingual capabilities. With Haptik on board, Reliance’s focus has been on the enhancement and enlargement of Jio, with a market alternative of 1 billion customers.
Apparently, Reliance started realising the potential of AI and machine studying a lot earlier than the sudden traction that these fields are actually receiving. In 2014, Reliance made an funding of USD 100,000 in Detect Applied sciences Pvt Ltd, which makes real-time pipeline monitoring programs to trace leaks and corrosions utilizing AI and different sensors.
Different notable investments/acquisitions made by Reliance embody deep tech startup Tesseract; Pharma-based enterprise platform C-Sq.; AI-based edtech platform Embibe, amongst others.
AI expertise
In 2018, Reliance introduced the launch of JioInteract. It was touted by its mother or father firm because the world’s first synthetic intelligence-based model engagement video platform. Beneath the management of Akash Ambani, the corporate quickly began hiring professionals to construct its rising know-how agency. Spearheaded by Akash Ambani, the JioCoin challenge was liable for constructing a workforce of younger professionals.
Additional, Reliance can be investing in AI schooling. Reliance-owned Jio College additionally presents a post-graduate programme in AI and information science. As per the web site, the programme goals to “instil theoretical capabilities and supply the know-how to create sensible options for enterprise and society.”
What subsequent
The investments and acquisitions within the latest previous point out Reliance’s acutely aware efforts to pivot from its picture of only a petrochemical large to a digital enterprise with ventures like Jio and JioMart. As famous above, Reliance has acquired or invested in a dozen tech startups throughout domains like well being tech, SaaS, robotics, edtech, and so forth. It goals to grow to be a ‘tech twister’ for the next-generation know-how world.
On the RAISE 2020 occasion, Mukesh Ambani stated, “Previously, nations have competed on bodily capital, monetary capital, human capital and mental capital. However, within the coming a long time… nations will more and more compete on Digital Capital,” Ambani stated. He added that 1.3 billion Indians are digitally empowered to create sooner financial development, prosperity, employment alternatives, and higher requirements of residing.
