Google on Monday disclosed that it will spent about $10 billion over the next five to seven years in India as part of its digitization drive in the country, investing in equities, new partnerships and infrastructure development, underscoring its most ambitious commitment to a major growth region.
The investments will be made through a digitization fund, marking the search giant's emphasis on the fast growth rate of apps and operating system platforms in the country, one of the largest internet services hubs in the world.
Sundar Pichai, who was born in India and is currently chief executive officer of parent company Alphabet Inc., announced the group's latest investment during the annual Google for India event via live stream, Monday.
Pichai joined Google in 2004 and is largely credited for developing the popular Chrome browser. He replaced company co-founder Larry Page as chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc last year. Google, established in 1998 in Silicon Valley, entered the Indian tech market six years later with offices Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Pichai stated that the ongoing global health crisis has made very clear the crucial role that technology plays for doing business and for connecting with family and friends. The digitization fund, he said, is a "reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy," Saritha Rai of Bloomberg quoted him as saying.
Pichai pointed out that India's online journey is far from over. In terms of the country's overall technology and interconnectivity, he said there is still a lot of work to do to make the internet affordable and useful for India's 1.3 billion people, Hanna Ziady of CNN Business wrote.
In the past, the Mountain View, California-based multinational technology firm has invested in Indian startups like property marketplace Commonfloor and hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo.
Google's latest investment fund is among the largest by a U.S.-based group in India. Earlier this year, Amazon announced it would allocate $1 billion in small business in the country by 2025. In April, Facebook allotted $5.7 billion for India's Reliance Jio Platforms in exchange for a 9.9 percent ownership.
Google for India has been an annual event in the country since 2015. In 2019, Google announced it would unveil a new artificial intelligence research facility in Bengaluru, including the launch of a mobile payment system in the area.
Google wants to accelerate the growth of the Internet in India, which at present has more than 500 million active users, and help get another 500 million people online, Pichai disclosed.
