Google, on the 13th of July, announced its plans to invest $10 billion in India, over the next 5-7 years, through which it will be able to accelerate the adoption of its digital services in the overseas market. The chief executive of Google, Sundar Pichai unveiled Google for India Digitization Fund through which the investments will be taking place. He says this fund will consist of a mix of partnerships, equity investments, infrastructure, operational and ecosystem investments.
“There’s still more work to do to make the internet affordable and useful for a billion Indians…from improving voice input and computing for all of India’s languages to inspiring and supporting a whole new generation of entrepreneurs,” says Sundar Pichai, CEO Google. Also, this fund will not help local businesses, but also digitize them so that they’re a part of the digital transformation of India. Earlier, Google has backed a few startups, including Dunzo – Banglore headquartered delivery startup. It has been reported that Google is in talks to acquire a 5% stake in Vodafone India, the second-biggest telecom operator in India.
A wide range of Google products such as Search, YouTube, and Android have already become a part of the online population’s lifestyle, which is why India is a key overseas market for Google. With 450+ million users of smartphones, and 500+ million users active online, Google’s investment is hitting a home run. On the other hand, the arch-enemy of both Amazon and Google, Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio platforms, with a plan to digitize 60+ million mom and pop stores across the nation.
A month ago, New Delhi banned 59 apps developed by Chinese companies, and this ban is expected to aid American tech giants to further expand their reach in India, considering a large chunk of competition has been eliminated. However, the sixth edition of Google for India and its plan to invest in the growth of the nation by not only helping entrepreneurs but also enabling education for everyone is truly remarkable.
