Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has agreed to invest up to $180 million for a majority stake of 72.69% in an AI-based education firm called Embibe. According to a recent report from The Hindu, RIL will be investing the amount in Embibe over the next three years and the company will be using the capital towards R&D related to AI in the field of education, growing its business, and expanding its geographical presence.
Embibe, which leverages data analytics to deliver personalized learning solutions for each student, plans to cater to students across K-12, higher education, professional skilling, vernacular languages and all curriculum categories in the country and across the world. Despite the investment, Aditi Avasthi, founder and CEO of Embibe, will continue in her leadership role and will be responsible for driving the growth of the business.
Akash Ambani, Director, Reliance Jio, was quoted saying:
“The investment in Embibe underlines Reliance’s commitment to growing the education sector in India and the world and making education accessible to the widest possible group of students by deploying technology. Reliance aims to connect over 1.9 million schools and 58,000 universities across India with technology”.
Currently, the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. It’s worth noting that Reliance Jio recently picked up a $500 million syndicated Samurai loan from Japanese banks and this might be the company’s first investment in order to expand its content library. Currently, Reliance Jio offers a variety of services through dedicated apps for Jio users and the company’s move into the education industry seems like the next step to expand its content portfolio even further.
