MUMBAI: Reliance Jio- a $66 billion, four years old startup led by world’s sixth richest man, Mukesh Ambani  has raised $4.5 billion ( Rs 33,737 crore) from the search giant, Google for a 7.77% stake.

This marks the end of the successful  $20.6  billion ( Rs 1,52,056 crore) funds raise cycle from 13 investors by Reliance Jio- India’s largest digital company for a 33% stake in the firm. 

The investments in Reliance have brought two of the technology world’s rivals- Facebook and Google together  - in a bid to tap millions of customers in the world’s second largest internet market. The cumulative capital now raised by Reliance from Jio’s stake sale and its Rs 53,124 crore rights issue is Rs 2,12,809 crore.

READ MORE: Google to invest USD 10 billion in India

Both Google and Facebook’s investments in Jio value the company at an equity value of Rs 4.36 lakh crore whereas the other investments have pegged Jio’s equity value at Rs 4.9 lakh crore.

The Reliance-Google partnership is stated to be making cheap data, affordable smartphones beyond the current 500 million internet customers across India. Jio platforms alone has a subscriber base of 388 million people.Google has also entered into a commercial agreement with Reliance to build entry level-affordable 4G/ 5G smartphones targeting a majority of India’s population  who are feature phone users.

Echoing the sentiments of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi towards building a self-sufficient India, (Aatma Nirbhar Bharat), Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, RIL said that the smartphones will be based on Google’s Android operating system and will be manufactured in India.

Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai said that its $4.5 funds infusion is the first and largest investment from its $10 billion (Rs 75,000 crore) Google for India digitization fund announced on Tuesday.

“Our mission with Android has always been to bring the power of computing to everyone, and we’ve been humbled by the way Indians have embraced Android over recent years. We think the time is right to increase our commitment to India significantly, in collaboration with local companies, and partnership with Jio is the first step. We want to work with Jio and other leaders in the local ecosystem to ensure that smartphones—together with the apps and services in the Play Store—are within reach for many more Indians across the country. And we believe the pace of Indian innovation means that the

Besides, Facebook( the largest minority stakeholder in Jio with 9.99% stake), Google,  Ambani  had also roped in Microsoft last year to build its data centres for Jio’s telecom units using Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing services.

"Google has empowered millions of Indians to access helpful information and, like Jio, is a force for change and innovation. We welcome Google onboard and are excited about our partnership for what it can deliver to Indians, from universalising Internet usage to deepening the new digital economy and providing a prime mover to India’s economic growth. Together, we hope to play a strong facilitative role in the transformative journey of building a new, Digital India," Ambani said in a statement.