Amazon announced plans to spend over $35 billion (Rs. 3,14,00 Crore) in India by 2030, its biggest long-term investment ever. The announcement, made at the Amazon Smbhav Summit, is intended to build a greater technological presence in India, accelerate the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in India, increase export functions, and create additional job opportunities for Indians.
Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President of Emerging Markets for Amazon, explained that Amazon has set a target to make an even greater impact on India's economy and digital sectors.
Since 2010, Amazon's cumulative investment into India is more than $40 billion, making it one of the top investors in the country, as a foreign company. With this newest announcement, Amazon's total potential investment in India will be greater than $75 billion, when including all previous investments.
Amazon's new planned investment is more than double Microsoft's recently announced investment of $17.5 billion in India and also higher than Google's announced investment plan of $15 billion for the AI and Data Centre expansion.
Earlier in May 2023, Amazon announced plans to invest $12.7 billion in building its cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities in Telangana and Maharashtra, with this latest announcement expanding on this initial announcement and establishing India as a centre for future innovation for Amazon.
Alongside its financial commitments, Amazon set ambitious national goals:
Quadruple e-commerce exports to $80 billion by the year 2030, a significant increase from the current $20 billion.
One million extra employment opportunities, including direct, indirect, induced, and seasonal employment, will be created.
The company has already digitised over 12 million small businesses and supported 2.8 million jobs across sectors, according to a Keystone Strategy report unveiled at the summit.
Amazon emphasised that its planned investments align with India’s priorities of digital transformation and economic growth.
The company aims to make artificial intelligence (AI) accessible to millions, create future-oriented logistics and data infrastructures, and facilitate the development of the MSME sector through innovation.
Agarwal pointed out that Amazon's expansion aligns with the vision of an Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat, with targeted investments going into fulfilment centres, transportation networks, payment systems, and technology development.
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Amazon also launched “Accelerate Exports,” a new programme aimed at connecting digital sellers with trusted manufacturers and enabling Indian-made products to reach global markets.
The company is set to hold onboarding drives across more than 10 manufacturing hubs, including Tirupur, Kanpur and Surat, and has announced a collaboration with the Apparel Export Promotion Council of India to expand across the country.
The announcement comes amid a wave of AI-focused investment from global tech giants. Microsoft, Google, and now Amazon have all put tens of billions of dollars in India, as the country is quickly establishing itself as a hub for AI innovation and cloud infrastructure.