Amazon.com Inc has announced that it will invest an additional $15 billion in India over the next seven years, taking its total investment in the country to $26 billion by 2030. The company’s Chief Executive Andy Jassy revealed this plan during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington on Friday.
Jassy and Modi discussed various topics, including supporting Indian startups, creating jobs, enabling exports, digitization, and empowering individuals and small businesses to compete globally, according to an Amazon blog post. Jassy also praised Modi’s vision for a digital India and said that Amazon is committed to being a long-term partner in India’s growth story.
This announcement comes after Amazon’s cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) said last month that it will invest 1.06 trillion rupees ($12.9 billion) in India by the end of 2030. AWS plans to set up multiple data centers in Hyderabad, which will be its second infrastructure region in India after Mumbai.
Amazon is not the only tech giant that is bullish on India’s digital potential. Google also announced that it will open a global fintech operation center in GIFT City in Gujarat, which will be its first such facility outside the US. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that the company is investing $10 billion in the India digitization fund and will continue to support India’s digital transformation.
Modi met with several US and Indian technology executives during his three-day visit to the US, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen, and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman. He invited them to make in India and leverage the country’s talent pool, innovation ecosystem, and market opportunities.
India is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in the world, with online retail sales expected to reach $120 billion by 2025, according to a report by Bain & Company and Flipkart.
Amazon faces stiff competition from homegrown rivals like Flipkart, which is backed by Walmart, and Reliance Industries, which operates JioMart. Amazon has also faced regulatory hurdles and legal challenges in India over its business practices and investments.