The digital division of Reliance Industries Ltd., Jio, is allegedly in talks with social media behemoth Meta to license its virtual reality (VR) platform, Horizon, for a prospective VR gadget. This action is a component of Meta’s larger plan to collaborate with other businesses in order to position Horizon OS as a premier platform for VR, AR, and mixed reality devices.
Potential Collaboration for VR Innovation
The Information cites sources stating that Jio plans to use Meta’s Horizon VR platform to power its next VR gadget. These discussions are still in the early phases and might not materialise, but they are an important step in Jio’s continuous investigation of AR and VR technology.
Jio’s AR and VR Ventures
Jio launched two new items on the market in October of last year: the JioGlass smart glasses and the JioDive VR headset. These announcements demonstrate Jio’s commitment to growing its footprint in the extended reality (XR) market, which comes after the firm acquired a majority stake in Tesseract, an AR and VR hardware and software startup, in 2019.
The Significance of Extended Reality
AR, VR, and mixed reality technologies are all included in extended reality (XR), which offers a wide range of applications in different industries. For instance, XR can be used in engineering to mimic 3D designs, in education to show concepts through 3D projections, and in healthcare to provide cutting-edge medical simulations. By offering users immersive experiences, XR technologies also greatly assist the entertainment sector.
Strengthening Jio and Meta’s Partnership
The two businesses’ increasing synergy is shown by the possible partnership between Jio and Meta. Their collaboration was strengthened in 2020 when Meta paid $5.7 billion to purchase a 10% share in Jio Platforms. Since then, the two businesses have combined their services; for example, JioMart customers can now place orders via Meta’s WhatsApp app.
Jio’s Market Dominance
Following Reliance’s annual report, which stated that Jio accounted for 60% of all data traffic in India in the fiscal year 2023–24 (FY24), came this revelation. By the end of FY24, Jio had 481.8 million subscribers, and its total data traffic had surpassed 148.5 billion gigabytes.
Financial Performance
Jio Platforms announced a 12% YoY growth in consolidated net profit in the first quarter (Q1) of FY25, at INR 5,698 crore. Furthermore, the company’s revenue from operations increased by 13% year over year to INR 29,449 crore, highlighting its strong financial performance and steady growth trajectory.
Final Thoughts
The possible use of Meta’s Horizon VR software could improve Jio’s VR and AR offerings as it pursues new technological avenues and broadens its online presence. This partnership is a reflection of Jio Platforms’ continuous development and dedication to using cutting-edge technology to provide its customers with immersive and interesting experiences.
