From 100 million users in 170 days to an IPO, a decade of Jio Platforms

Jio Platforms comes to the public market a decade after Reliance Jio's launch, with 524.4 million customers and FY26 profit after tax of Rs 30,049 crore, according to an ICICI Direct summary of its offer document. Along the way, 13 global investors bought a combined 32.94% stake in the company during the pandemic, as The News Minute reported.

From launch to scale

The origin of the business predates its launch. Speaking at the Jio IPO media meet on October 15, Isha Ambani, director of Jio Platforms, said that around 2009-2010, an assignment she could not submit online during a break from college in the US led to a conversation with her brother Akash about India's poor connectivity, and to the idea of a digital technology platform company. Mukesh Ambani had earlier placed the moment in 2011, as Business Standard reported¹ in 2018.

Jio launched in September 2016 as a 4G LTE-only network. According to Mukesh Ambani's remarks reported by Business Standard, it entered the market with free voice calls and low-priced data, and India moved from 155th in the world in mobile broadband data consumption to the top spot in less than two years.


Customer acquisition was rapid. As per a Reliance Jio media release dated February 21, 2017, Jio crossed 100 million subscribers in 170 days, averaging about seven additions a second. It crossed 300 million customers in about two and a half years, by March 2019, as Business Today reported², citing sources. Bharti Airtel reached the same mark in its 19th year of operations, the report noted.

Capital and leadership

In 2020, during the pandemic, Jio Platforms raised Rs 1,52,056 crore from 13 investors for a combined 32.94% stake, as The News Minute reported³. Facebook was the first investor, with 9.99%, and Google the last, with 7.7%. The investor group also included KKR, Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Mubadala. According to Isha Ambani, Reliance Industries met its net debt-free commitment that year, nine months ahead of its 2021 target.

In June 2022, Akash Ambani was appointed chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, while Mukesh Ambani continued as chairman of Jio Platforms, according to Quartz⁴.

The business at listing

According to an ICICI Direct⁵ summary of the offer document, Reliance Jio Infocomm had 524.4 million customers as of March 31, 2026, and Jio Platforms reported FY26 revenue of Rs 1,46,885 crore and profit after tax of Rs 30,049 crore. Jio had 268.5 million 5G users by March 2026, as per a report in the Daily Pioneer⁶.

The company has also built an intellectual property portfolio. Jio Platforms had filed 6,817 patents by March 2026, including in 6G and satellite technology, and entered the global top 20 for international patent filings, according to company figures reported by FinTech BizNews⁷.

Akash Ambani, managing director of Jio Platforms, said at the media meet that the company had built a base of 53 crore customers over the past decade, and that its mission remained to connect every Indian home, citizen and enterprise with high-quality, affordable digital services.

The IPO opens on October 21 and closes on October 23, according to ICICI Direct. Isha Ambani noted that Dhirubhai Ambani took Reliance Industries public in 1977, almost 50 years ago.
Jio's first decade was defined by customer acquisition, capital raising and scale. The listing changes the lens. As a public company, Jio Platforms will now be assessed by the market on how its 524.4 million-customer base, FY26 earnings and technology investments translate into value over the next decade.

References:

1. https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/how-jio-was-born-tired-of-poor-internet-speed-isha-ambani-mooted-the-idea-118031600357_1.html
2. https://www.businesstoday.in/industry/telecom/story/reliance-jio-crosses-300-million-users-mark-in-less-than-3-years-187633-2019-04-14
3. https://www.thenewsminute.com/news/google-invest-rs-33737-crore-jio-platforms-77-stake-128720
4. https://qz.com/india/2183249/akash-ambani-becomes-the-new-chairman-of-rils-reliance-jio
5. https://www.icicidirect.com/research/equity/finace/everything-to-know-about-jio-platforms-ipo
6. https://dailypioneer.com/news/slug-lite/jio-ipo-reliance-jios-growth-story-and-public-market-expectations?year=2026
7. https://fintechbiznews.com/fintech-technology/jio-platforms-in-global-top-20-in-wipo-patents