Jio Platforms jumps 21% in debut after India's record $3.2 billion IPO

Jio shares jump 21 percent in trading debut

Jio Platforms, the telecom and digital services business controlled by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, opened its stock market career with a 21% gain on Wednesday, according to TechCrunch. The debut followed an initial public offering that raised $3.2 billion and pulled in more than $77 billion worth of bids, making it both India's largest IPO and its most subscribed stock offering on record.

The stock began trading at ₹1,358 (roughly $14) per share, up from the ₹1,119 (about $12) IPO price. At that level, TechCrunch reports, Jio carried a market value of around ₹12.5 trillion — approximately $131.9 billion — placing it second only to its parent, Reliance Industries, which is valued at about ₹16 trillion ($168.6 billion).

Unprecedented investor participation

The share sale, which ran from October 21 to 22, attracted bids equal to 22.19 times the number of shares available, according to exchange data cited by TechCrunch. More than 13.8 million people applied, a record for an Indian offering and a clear signal of demand for exposure to the country's largest telecom operator.

From price disruptor to market leader

Jio entered a crowded Indian telecom market in 2016 by giving away data and charging very little for service, a strategy that pulled customers away from Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and the state-run BSNL. It now leads the market, and managing director Akash Ambani said at the listing ceremony that its platforms serve more than 540 million customers. Pricing has since moved broadly in line with rivals, while the business has expanded into broadband, cloud services and AI.

Akash, Mukesh Ambani's eldest son, has been taking on greater responsibility at Jio as his father gradually hands duties to the next generation of Reliance leadership. At the ceremony he framed the listing as a step toward building a global technology company. "My dream is that one day, when the world counts its great technology companies, one of them will be from India, and that company will be called Jio Platforms Limited," he said.

Where the money goes

Jio earned ₹300.5 billion (about $3.2 billion) in profit on revenue of ₹1.47 trillion (around $15.5 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 2026, with both figures up roughly 15% from the prior year. In the June quarter, revenue grew nearly 12% and profit rose 9%.

The company plans to use up to ₹275 billion (about $2.9 billion) of the IPO proceeds to repay debt at its telecom subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm, with the remainder going toward general corporate purposes. Jio had total borrowings of ₹613.7 billion (around $6.5 billion) as of June 30.

Big Tech backers stayed in

Jio drew billions from American investors during the pandemic in 2020. Meta, then named Facebook, invested $5.7 billion and Google put in $4.5 billion, with General Atlantic, Silver Lake and Vista Equity Partners among the other participants. That round valued Jio at up to ₹4.91 trillion — about $65 billion at the time, less than half the valuation it fetched at listing. None of those investors sold shares in the IPO, which consisted entirely of newly issued stock.

Why it matters

The debut is a landmark for Indian capital markets: the most subscribed offering in the country's history shows deep investor appetite for large, homegrown technology-adjacent businesses. For Meta, Google and the other 2020 backers, the move from a $65 billion private valuation to roughly $131.9 billion in public trading represents a substantial paper gain, and none of them have exited. For Jio, the proceeds chip away at $6.5 billion in borrowings just as the company pushes beyond telecom into cloud and AI, where it will face global competitors. And with Akash Ambani front and center at the ceremony, the listing doubles as a public milestone in Reliance's generational handover.