A failed attempt to submit a college assignment online in Mumbai sparked a conversation that eventually led to the idea behind Reliance , recalled on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference a day after Jio Platforms filed its Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) for its initial public offering (IPO), Isha Ambani recounted how an internet connectivity problem during a visit to India with her brother, Akash Ambani, prompted them to question the country’s digital infrastructure.
“Akash and I were in college in the States, and we were back home in Bombay for a break,” she said.
“I tried to submit an assignment, but unfortunately, the internet did not work and I couldn’t submit it,” Ambani recalled.
The experience led the siblings to discuss the difference in internet connectivity between India and the US.
“Why was it that we didn’t have the same type of connectivity that we enjoyed in the West?” she said.
According to Ambani, Akash believed the solution lay in building a digital technology platform company that could address India’s connectivity needs.
The conversation preceded the commercial launch of Reliance Jio in September 2016. The telecom operator entered the market with introductory free voice and data services, expanding access to mobile internet across the country.
Jio Platforms prepares for IPO
Nearly a decade after Jio’s commercial launch, Jio Platforms, the digital and telecom subsidiary of , is preparing to enter the public markets.
The company filed its RHP on October 14, setting a price band of ₹1,065-1,119 per share for an IPO comprising up to 27 crore fresh equity shares. The issue is scheduled to open on October 21 and close on October 23, with anchor investor bidding set for October 19.
The offering could raise up to ₹30,213 crore. Jio Platforms plans to use part of the proceeds to repay borrowings at its telecom subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm, while the remaining funds will be allocated to general corporate purposes.
Reliance had announced plans to list Jio Platforms at its 2025 annual general meeting. The company subsequently filed its draft prospectus on June 19, 2026, and received the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) observation letter on August 28.
Isha Ambani on Reliance’s approach to building businesses
Speaking about Reliance’s approach to building businesses, Ambani outlined three principles: long-term planning, scale and execution.
She said the conglomerate evaluates businesses over decades rather than focusing solely on immediate opportunities. Scale, she explained, involves determining what is required to fundamentally change an industry’s economics.
Ambani also highlighted the importance of financial discipline, recalling Mukesh Ambani’s 2019 commitment to make Reliance Industries net debt-free by March 2021.
Reliance announced in June 2020 that it had achieved the target ahead of schedule, following investments in Jio Platforms and a rights issue.
Referring to her grandfather, Dhirubhai Ambani, who took Reliance Industries public in 1977, Isha Ambani said the family’s third generation remained it to the founder’s vision of enabling Indians to participate in the country’s economic growth.