A key executive from digital technology giant InMobi’s social media branch Roposo said on Tuesday that the company is in talks with Reliance Retail for a social commerce-related business arrangement that will be launched in the next two quarters.
SoftBank-backed In an interview with PTI, InMobi co-founder and CEO Naveen Tewari said the business aims to achieve 1 billion users in the next 2-3 years by forming partnerships and growing its footprint internationally.
“We are partnering with Reliance Retail to provide the e-commerce back-end for a new generation front — a commerce experience of influencer-led entertainment and commerce,” Tewari said.
He claimed that Walmart and TikTok had gone into a similar partnership a year ago to push sales on social media platforms rather than through traditional advertising, but that it had not taken off.
“It became a great way to do commerce. That is what we are replicating here. It will take 3-6 months. We are talking about integrating the back-end system,” Tewari said.
Jio Platforms has announced a USD 200 million (about Rs 1,500 crore) investment in InMobi’s Singapore subsidiary Glance for a 17.5% interest. The business offers a mobile screen lock as well as material to be displayed on it. Glance is available on 400 million mobile handsets in Asia. Glance is valued at USD 1.8 billion in this deal.
“We did need capital because we are building a consumer platform globally. The primary reason for taking (investment) from Jio is that I adore Mr Mukesh Ambani, his audacity to build and disrupt industry after industry. It is a childhood dream to be associated with him. Second, they are one of the most advanced carriers of the world,” Tewari said.
Jio’s Pragati OS will feature Glance in addition to stake purchases. Glance is also backed by Google and Mithril Capital, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Tewari stated that the investment will be used to boost the company’s business in Latin America and the United States at first.
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