Amazon to invest $35 bn in India
The global major plans to expand its businesses from quick commerce to cloud computing and AI
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New Delhi: Amazon plans to invest $ 35 billion in India over the next five years to expand its businesses from quick commerce to cloud computing and artificial intelligence, as the global supermajor doubles down on its presence in the world’s fastest-growing economy.
The investment by the US e-commerce giant comes a day after Microsoft pledged $17.5 billion in India for data centres, AI and cloud infrastructure by 2030. Previously, Google had committed $15 billion over the next five years to building AI data centres.
Amazon said its investments in areas such as artificial intelligence and logistics infrastructure through 2030 will help create an additional 1 million jobs in India.
The e-commerce giant is ramping up investment to compete with Walmart-backed Flipkart as well as homegrown giants like those of billionaire Mukesh Ambani and near-instant delivery firms like Eternal Ltd’s Blinkt, Swiggy Ltd’s Instamart and Zepto.
Amazon has invested $40 billion in India since 2010. In 2023, it announced a $26 billion investment.
The fresh investment will help increase exports for sellers in India to $ 80 billion by 2030 from $ 20 billion.
The investments, it said, are “strategically aligned with India’s national priorities and will focus on expanding AI capabilities, enhancing logistics infrastructure, supporting small business growth and creating jobs.”
“We’re excited to continue being a catalyst for India’s growth, as we democratize access to AI for millions of Indians,” said Amit Agarwal, head of emerging markets at Amazon.
Making the announcement during the Amazon Smbhav Summit, Agarwal said the company has set a target to quadruple exports from India to $80 billion from about $20 billion it has facilitated as of now and create an additional one million direct, indirect, induced and seasonal jobs by 2030.
“Amazon to date has invested $40 billion in India since 2010. Now we will invest another $35 billion by 2030 across all our businesses in India,” Agarwal said.
Agarwal said the company has invested $40 billion in India to date and is the largest foreign investor in India, according to a Keystone report compiled from publicly available data.
In May 2023, Amazon announced plans to invest $12.7 billion in India by 2030 into its local cloud and AI infrastructure across Telangana and Maharashtra. The company has already invested $ 3.7 billion in India between 2016 and 2022.
Agarwal said that the company has invested at scale towards building physical and digital infrastructure, including fulfilment centres, transportation networks, data centres, digital payments infrastructure and technology development.
According to the Keystone report, Amazon has digitized over 12 million small businesses and enabled $ 20 billion in cumulative ecommerce exports, while supporting approximately 2.8 million direct, indirect, induced and seasonal jobs across industries in India in 2024.
To push export growth from India, Amazon launched a manufacturing-focused initiative, “Accelerate Exports”, designed to connect digital entrepreneurs with trusted manufacturers while enabling manufacturers to become successful global sellers.
As part of the program, Amazon will host on-ground onboarding drives in over 10 manufacturing clusters across India, including Tirupur, Kanpur, and Surat.
At the Smbhav summit, Amazon announced a key partnership with the Apparel Export Promotion Council of India to expand and scale the program nationwide.
