Search engine giant Google will invest $ 10 billion in the Google for India Digitization Fund, looking to fast track the country’s adoption of digital services. The fund will come in the form of equity investments, partnerships, ecosystems, and infrastructure investment.
“Today, I’m excited to announce the Google for India Digitization Fund. Through this effort, we will invest approximately $10 billion, into India over the next 5-7 years. We’ll do this through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments,” reads a blog by CEO Sundar Pichai.
The fund will enable internet and information access through native languages like Tamil and Hindi. Further, the company will build new, relevant products and services pertinent to the country.
Google will also empower small and medium businesses through their digital transformation journey, leveraging on tech and AI in agriculture, education, and health.
Google is Just a Part of Big Tech’s Quest for India.
The country is closing down its web space on Chinese companies, which presents an opportunity for American companies to invest in India. However, this opportunity is also inviting for other tech giants in the country who are also making investments to capture the country’s excess of 500 million people currently online. Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Telecom Operator Reliance Jio, looking to digitize the country’s 60 million small stores. Similarly, Amazon earlier revealed plans to invest $1 billion to digitize SMEs in the country, looking to report goods worth $ 10 billion in 2025.
Google’s General Manager and VP of Payment Caesar Sengupta revealed that the company will focus on “enabling more high-quality low-cost smartphones,” allowing more users to access the internet.