Jio Platforms Limited listed at ₹1,358 per share on Wednesday. Chairman Akash Ambani said the company plans to expand beyond affordable data into artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and satellite connectivity. He said the company’s next phase would focus on “democratising every technology that can transform lives" for its 540 million customers.

Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) plans to expand beyond affordable data to include artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and international telecom technology partnerships, Akash Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio and Managing Director of Jio Platforms, announced as the company made its stock market debut on Wednesday.

Jio Platforms listed at ₹1,358 per share on the market, marking a premium of 21.35 per cent over its issue price of ₹1,119.

Speaking at the blockbuster stock market listing of Jio Platforms Ltd, Akash Ambani said he returned to India after studying abroad to work with his father on the ambition of making the country digital.

Quick answers to key questions

•4 QUESTIONS

What technologies does Jio plan to expand into beyond affordable data?⌵

Akash Ambani said Jio’s next phase will include artificial intelligence, cloud computing, connected devices, satellite connectivity and digital services yet to be imagined.

Why does Jio want to make advanced technologies more accessible?⌵

Jio says it aims to democratise technologies that can transform Indian lives, making them affordable, accessible and meaningful for people across the country.

How will Jio’s next decade differ from its first decade?⌵

Jio said its first decade focused on democratising data and bringing people into digital life. Its next decade is intended to broaden access to technologies such as AI, cloud and satellite connectivity.

What does Jio mean by connectivity from space?⌵

Akash Ambani included connectivity from space among the technologies Jio wants to bring to more people. The article identifies this as satellite connectivity but does not provide implementation details.

He described Jio's early years as a venture that began with little more than an idea and a team convinced that every Indian deserved affordable, world-class technology.

He pointed out that the company’s homegrown platforms now serve more than 540 million customers across the country. "Today, its homegrown platforms serve more than 54 crore customers," he said on the day Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) made its debut on the Indian stock exchanges.

'Next wave of technological transformation'

Akash Ambani said that the next phase would go beyond affordable data to artificial intelligence, cloud computing, connected devices, satellite connectivity and digital services yet to be imagined.

He said the company’s next phase would focus on “democratising every technology that can transform lives".

"In our first 10 years, we democratised data, bringing hundreds of millions into digital life. In our next 10 [years], we want to democratise every technology that can transform Indian lives: AI, Cloud, Connected devices, Connectivity even from space, and Digital services not yet imagined," he added.

In an email to employees, Akash Ambani said, according to PTI, that the company must now lead the next wave of technological transformation.

"From ubiquitous connectivity to digital services, from cloud to artificial intelligence, we must once again lead the next wave of technological transformation - making the world's most advanced technologies affordable, accessible and meaningful for every Indian," he wrote.

Focus on next Gen

Akash Ambani's remarks suggested that the responsibility now rests with the next generation. He asserted that the next decade must be about empowering every Indian to realise their potential to the fullest in the age of Artificial Intelligence.

"What Reliance has done for shareholders for nearly 50 years, Jio will continue to do so for the next 50," he said as Jio shares opened 21.4 per cent above their IPO price and rose as much as 23 per cent to ₹1,375, valuing the company at more than ₹12.5 lakh crore ($131 billion).

"Today's listing is not a finish line, but a starting line," Akash Ambai, Chairman of Reliance Jio and Managing Director of Jio Platforms, said. He promised to create value for shareholders over the decades, invoking the record of the parent company.

He said he and his siblings had taken the baton from their father and pledged to make Jio bigger, better and more meaningful for India.