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Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Wednesday announced that it had hiked its stake in the US-based technology company SkyTran Inc taking its total shareholding in the company to 26.3 per cent.
“Reliance has made a strategic investment into SkyTran as part of SkyTran’s recently concluded preferred stock financing, with an option to further invest an amount up to $ 25million in convertible notes, subject to SkyTran’s board approval,” the company had said in a statement.
In November 2019 the company had hiked its stake in SkyTran to 17.37 per cent through a subsidiary, Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Ltd. on a fully diluted basis.
“Subsequent to our disclosure dated November 7, 2019, RSBVL acquired convertible notes in two tranches, the first one on November 29, 2019, and the second one on March 23, 2020, which got converted into shares of SkyTran Inc. on April 27, 2020, upon certain conditions being satisfied. Consequent upon this, the shareholding of RSBVL in SkyTran Inc. stood increased to 26.31% on a fully diluted basis,” RIL said in its official statement.
According to media reports, the conglomerate is looking to delve into developing India’s first pod taxi prototype, a next-generation transportation system.
Pod taxis are automated, a driverless personal rapid transit system that functions on overhead suspension or magnetic levitation.
The idea of pod taxis in India was fir undertaken by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari back in 2016.NITI Aayog in January 2017 had cleared the ministry’s proposal through its panel to test three rapid transport systems with the use of pod taxis.
SkyTran, founded in 2011, has been working on creating a high-speed, scalable transport system that is low-cost. The company has also partnered up with US’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
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