Throughout 2020 Mukesh Ambani had been convincing Google, Facebook, and a clutch of Wall Street heavyweights to buy into his vision for one of the world's most ambitious corporate transformations. But, now he is under pressure to deliver after the flush of about $27 billion in fresh capital

The recent public statements and people familiar with the company’s plans reveal that the Indian tycoon is converged on a handful of priorities as he attempts to turn Reliance Industries from an old-economy conglomerate into a technology and e-commerce titan.

The process includes incorporating Facebook’s WhatsApp payments service into Reliance’s digital platform; developing products for the anticipated roll-out next year of a local 5G network; and integrating the company’s e-commerce offerings with a network of physical mom-and-pop shops across the country. Further, Mukesh Ambani is also extending his plans to sell a stake in Reliance’s oil and petrochemical units. This deal he had formerly hoped would shrink debt and finance his high-tech pivot earlier this year.

“Mukesh has been a big part of this wave of innovation,” said Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc., which owns Google. “His vision and focus of a future where every Indian can benefit from the opportunities technology creates is really exciting to us and we are glad to be a partner in that work.”

However, the investors are watching Ambani’s every move as he renews his empire with a market value of $179 billion amidst the pandemic, paddling into highly competitive industries and taking on rivals from Amazon.com to Walmart. Reliance stocks rose as much as 55 percent this year to an all-time high in September.

The Aramco deal, first announced in August 2019, was supposed to help Ambani deliver on a pledge to get rid of his company’s $22 billion in net debt in 18 months. But as talks with the Saudis stalled, Reliance investors grew more anxious. The stock tumbled more than 40% in the three months through March 23.

Ambani, who had begun exploring stake sales in his digital services and retail units months earlier, decided to accelerate those talks after the Aramco deal hit a wall, people familiar with the matter said.
The response from investors exceeded the company’s expectations, one of the people said, with big-name backers including KKR & Co., Silver Lake, and Mubadala Investment Co. committing more than $20 billion to the digital business and $6.4 billion to retail. Reliance declared itself free of net debt in June, nine months before its self-imposed deadline, and Reliance’s shares surged.

At Reliance’s annual shareholder meeting in July, Ambani and his eldest children Isha and Akash sketched out the broad thrust of their high-tech ambitions. Among the new services they touted was a 5G wireless network as early as next year and a video-streaming platform that will bring Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, and dozens of TV channels under one umbrella.

“He has a terrific eye for execution,” Nilekani said. “He looks at the big picture while at the same time getting into every minor detail, much like Jeff Bezos. They are both unique. Neither man is known to give up.”