Report: Facebook Parent Meta Could License VR OS To Jio

Facebook parent company Meta is reportedly in discussions to license its Meta VR OS, Horizon, to Jio Platforms. Jio, the digital services arm of Reliance Industries, is planning to develop a VR device. This initiative aligns with the interests of Akash and Isha Ambani, the heirs of Reliance MD and Chairman Mukesh Ambani, who have frequently highlighted the potential of VR, AR, and the metaverse at Reliance AGMs.

Meta aims to collaborate with a range of companies to produce hardware powered by the Horizon OS. This strategy seeks to position Horizon as the leading platform for VR, AR, and mixed reality, akin to Android in the smartphone market and Windows in the PC arena. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg alluded to this goal in a recent interview, where he compared Apple’s Vision Pro to Meta's Quest headsets, indicating a preference for broader market penetration over premium exclusivity. Despite these ambitions, Meta faces competition from Google, Samsung, and Qualcomm, who are also developing their mixed reality products.

In 2020, Meta invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms, acquiring a 10% stake in the company, laying a strong foundation for this potential collaboration. However, reports suggest that discussions are still in the preliminary stages. Jio has been exploring VR and AR technologies, having launched the JioDIVE VR headset and the JioGlass smart glasses, following its acquisition of a majority stake in AR/VR company Tesseract in 2019.

Mixed reality, which combines elements of VR and AR, holds significant promise. It enables applications like 3D educational demonstrations and engineering model simulations, and offers substantial benefits in healthcare and entertainment—a sector where Jio is particularly influential, especially after merging JioCinema with Disney-backed Star India, including Hotstar.

The Jio-Meta partnership continues to grow. In the 2023-2024 financial year, Jio accounted for 60% of India's data traffic, with a subscriber base of 481.8 million and data consumption reaching 148.5 billion GB. India is Meta's largest market, making this partnership crucial for both parties.

Financially, Jio Platforms reported a 12 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit, reaching Rs 5,698 crore in Q1 FY2025, with a revenue of Rs 29,449 crore, marking a 13 per cent year-on-year growth.

This potential collaboration between Meta and Jio could revolutionize the VR and AR landscape, leveraging Jio's extensive reach and Meta's technological prowess to create a dominant mixed reality platform.