Meta is in early-stage negotiations with Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) digital subsidiary, Jio, to license its Horizon VR software, according to sources reported by The Information. Jio plans to leverage Meta’s Horizon VR technology to drive a new virtual reality (VR) device under development. This initiative aligns with Meta’s broader ambition to establish Horizon OS as a premier platform for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality applications.
Despite ongoing discussions, no agreement has been finalized yet.
The potential deal comes as Jio intensifies its focus on AR and VR technologies. Last October, Jio launched the JioDive VR headset and JioGlass smart glasses, following its acquisition of a majority stake in the AR and VR startup Tesseract in 2019.
Extended reality (XR) technologies, encompassing both AR and VR, offer diverse applications such as 3D educational projections, engineering design simulations, and uses in healthcare and entertainment sectors.
This potential partnership underscores the growing collaboration between Jio Platforms and Meta. In 2020, Meta acquired a 10% stake in Jio Platforms for $5.7 billion, fostering integration between their products. For instance, JioMart users can now place orders through Meta’s WhatsApp.
The discussions come on the heels of Reliance’s annual report, which highlighted Jio’s dominance in India’s data market. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, Jio accounted for 60% of the country’s data traffic, with a subscriber base of 481.8 million and total data traffic reaching 148.5 billion GB.
For the first quarter of FY25, Jio Platforms reported a 12% increase in consolidated net profit to INR 5,698 crore, and a 13% year-on-year rise in revenue from operations to INR 29,449 crore.
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