IOI
Glance employs an algorithm to offer customised news, entertainment content, gaming, and live videos to smartphone lock screens, and is backed by Google and PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel’s Silicon Valley-based venture fund Mithril Capital.
According to Glance’s website, more than 400 million smartphones have been sold with the functionality enabled.
The firm was designated as a unicorn in December 2020, just over 18 months after its inception, and is now worth at up to $1.8 billion.
In the announcement, Jio Platforms Director Akash Ambani said, “Glance hopes to launch in numerous important areas around the world as well as extend the experience to millions of Jio consumers.”
Glance will use the Jio Platforms investment to grow outside of Asia, including the United States, Brazil, Mexico, and Russia, with the goal of creating the world’s largest live content and commerce ecosystem on smartphone lock screens.
Reliance has been broadening its IT assets, most recently announcing plans to buy a 25% share in Silicon Valley-based deep tech startup Two Platforms for $15 million.
Alumnus of Harvard Business School After stints at Silicon Valley-based VC firm Charles River Ventures and McKinsey & Company, Naveen Tewari cofounded InMobi in 2008, which became India’s first unicorn in 2011.
To integrate creator-led commerce on its lock screen platform, Glance purchased Roposo, an entertainment and commerce video-sharing app, in November 2019 and Shop101, a reselling e-commerce app, in June 2021.
