News Update

JioGenNext incubated 170 startups in 7 years, 21 acquired by various firms: RIL

• ByStartupStory     |    August 9, 2022

According to the Mukesh Ambani-led company’s annual report for the fiscal year 2021-22, Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) startup accelerator project JioGenNext has nurtured 170 businesses in seven years (FY22). Since its founding, the corporation has reported it has run 16 cohorts. JioGenNext claims to have received over 12,153 applications from aspiring businesses thus far. 79 of the 170 coached businesses have secured finance, while 21 have been purchased by separate companies.

According to the study, firms in the incubation program have raised more than INR 2,600 Cr in early-stage venture capital (VC). Since its inception in 2014, the JioGenNext accelerator program has welcomed 30 corporate partners and over 90 mentors to help businesses grow operations and provide finance and portfolio management to chosen founders. According to the annual report, JioGenNext also established its Market Access Program (MAP) in FY22 to help early-stage firms scale. Farm Infinity, a farmer-focused financial platform, and Bigthinx, a fashion-tech business, were among the 11 startups chosen for its initial batch.

According to the annual report, the initiative seeks to “create bridges for founders in the RIL/ Jio ecosystem; develop and expedite interactions for entrepreneurs with internal stakeholders to seek partnerships and possibilities that will help them expand quickly.” The MAP program also intends to assist companies on topics such as product innovation, go-to-market strategy, recruiting, marketing, and finance. The oil-to-telecom corporation also stated that as part of its Labs/02 program, it had nurtured 15 Israeli companies since 2017. It runs the incubator in partnership with the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), OurCrowd, Hebrew University, and Ben-Gurion University.

RIL has authorized more than $12 million in grants for Israeli entrepreneurs so far, having reviewed over 1,500 businesses in the process. It primarily invests in deep tech startups, providing finance and coaching as well as using these firms for interaction with its telecom, retail, and oil-to-chemical businesses. The company also stated in its annual report that it is dedicated to investing in solar & hydrogen gigafactories, as well as other future technologies. RIL said that its joint venture (JV) Jio-bp (British Petroleum) has launched a battery swapping service with food tech giant Swiggy, highlighting its efforts in the cleantech industry. Furthermore, the business collaborated with BluSmart last year to provide charging services in Delhi-NCR.

 

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