The investment is expected to support Glance in expanding its presence to several key international markets outside of Asia

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Glance has developed two disruptive digital platforms. (Credit: Pexels from Pixabay)

Jio Platforms (Jio), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is set to invest $200m in a Series D round of funding of AI-driven lock screen platform Glance.

The investment is expected to support Glance in expanding its presence to several key international markets outside of Asia such as the US, Brazil, Mexico and Russia.

Currently, Glance’s lock screen platform features on more than 400 million devices across markets in Asia. The platform is designed to avoid the need for search and break barriers of downloading apps.

Technology company Google and Silicon Valley-based venture fund Mithril Capital are also backing Glance, which is an unconsolidated subsidiary of InMobi Group.

Headquartered in Singapore and founded in 2019, Glance has developed two disruptive digital platforms that include Glance and entertainment-led commerce platform Roposo.

Jio Platforms director Akash Ambani said: “Glance has grown at a phenomenal pace over the past two years and has given users a truly unique solution by unlocking the power of the lock screen for experiencing the internet, live content, creator-driven entertainment commerce and gaming.

“With the help of this investment, Glance expects to launch in several key markets globally as well as extend the experience to millions of Jio users, further reinforcing our commitment to provide the most advanced and next-level tech and digital ecosystem for consumers in India and beyond.”

Glance has also entered into a business partnership arrangement with Reliance Retail Ventures for the integration of its lock screen platform into the JioPhone Next smartphones.

The platform will be integrated into Pragati OS, co-developed by Jio Platforms and Google, to provide live content on lock screen for Jio users.

InMobi Group co-founder and Glance president and COO Piyush Shah said: “Glance has created a disruptive lock screen-first discovery platform for live content, commerce and gaming in Asia, and we intend to scale it globally going forward.

“Jio’s investment is a huge validation of this vision and gives us the firepower to take the innovative experience of Glance to surfaces across the world. We look forward to working with Jio to build the content, creator and commerce ecosystem of the future, together.”

Morgan Stanley served as the exclusive financial advisor to Glance in connection with the transaction, while Khaitan & Co. acted as its legal counsel.

The completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.