Google to invest $10 bn in India over 5-7 years
Tech major Google has announced a $10 billion (Rs 75,000 crore) ‘Google for India digitization fund’ in India over the course of next 5-7 years to support small businesses/startups, online education for the country’s digital transformation. Sundar Pichai, the Indian origin CEO of Google and Alphabet Inc., said during the company’s first virtual Google for India event that the investment will happen through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational infrastructure and ecosystem investments. “This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy,” Pichai said. The Google CEO said that the $10 billion investment in India will focus on four areas including enabling accessibility to information for India in their local language, building new products and services relevant to the country’s unique needs, empowerment of small businesses and leveraging technology and AI for social good, in areas like health, education, and agriculture.
The tech giant has backed many startups in India in mobility, edtech, fintech and telemedicine spaces through its growth equity investment fund, Capitalg. Pichai said that this will be possible through partnership with the Indian government and private businesses to share Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a digital India. While praising the fast growing app economy of India and its 2500 Youtubers who have a huge following online, Pichai said that that the accessibility to low cost smartphones and affordable data has paved the way for the same. Pichai said that Google’s several initiatives for India including its rural internet programme, Internet Saathi, payments platform, Google Pay and reading tutor app, Bolo have proved to be a hit in India and the company has plans to scale these projects for the global users. Google also announced new initiatives as part of its ongoing efforts towards the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.