Google LLC today said it will acquire a 7.73% stake in Jio Platforms Limited, India’s largest mobile carrier, for $4.5 billion.

The deal comes as part of the search giant’s newly announced plans to invest $10 billion in India over the coming years. One of the initiative’s goals is to expand internet access in the country, an objective that Google will work with Jio to advance. 

Google India head Sanjay Gupta and Android executive Sameer Samat disclosed in a blog post that the companies will collaborate to develop a new mobile device as part of the push. “Google and Jio Platforms have entered into a commercial agreement to jointly develop an entry-level affordable smartphone with optimizations to the Android operating system and the Play Store,” the executives wrote.

Reuters reported that the device is expected to feature 4G and possibly 5G compatibility as well. Jio network doesn’t yet support the latter technology, but the carrier has indicated that it’s developing 5G hardware in-house for its mobile network. 

Google’s $4.5 billion investment and smartphone development partnership with the carrier may open the door to deeper collaboration between the companies later on. With its vast market reach, Jio could help Google widen the adoption of cloud services such as the G Suite productivity suite in India. Jio currently has more than 388 million subscribers, up from 300 million last April.

Google could potentially also play a role in the carrier’s 5G efforts. The search giant’s cloud business recently introduced Global Mobile Edge Cloud, a portfolio of infrastructure and consulting solutions to help ease carriers’ infrastructure modernization projects. The offering also encompasses Google’s Anthos suite of hybrid cloud services. 

The $4.5 billion investment from Google is the latest in a series of big-ticket funding rounds Jio has closed over the last few months. It’s the second-largest so far behind Facebook Inc.’s $5.7 billion investment in April, which bought the social network a 9.99% stake. 

Photo: Google