Amid pandemic, investors bet on India's Jio and its giant-killer playbook

Commuters at a bus stop in Mumbai, India in 2017. Last year, Jio became India's No. 1 carrier by number of users. — Reuters

MUMBAI: From its Silicon Valley-like campus near Mumbai, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio telecom carrier is emerging as a winner from changes in the way Indian consumers plug into a digital economy made more urgent by the coronavirus pandemic.

For Indian shoppers who prefer to order online, it is launching a grocery ordering service with Facebook Inc's popular WhatsApp messaging. For Bollywood fans who would prefer to avoid a crowded theater, it is readying same-day-release on the Jio platform.