Google to invest $10 billion in India

Google will invest $10 billion to boost digit economy

credit : Sentinel Assam

New Delhi : Google is in advanced talks to buy a stake in Reliance Industries Ltd.’s digital arm Jio Platforms Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter.

The US technology company has been discussing an investment of about $4 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. 

Details of the potential deal could change, and negotiations could still be delayed or fall apart, the people said. Representatives for Google and Reliance didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

This morning, had an extremely fruitful interaction with @sundarpichai. We spoke on a wide range of subjects, particularly leveraging the power of technology to transform the lives of India’s farmers, youngsters and entrepreneurs. pic.twitter.com/IS9W24zZxs

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 13, 2020

The search giant's boss Sundar Pichai, had confirmed reports of Google’s interest in Jio.

Today at #GoogleForIndia we announced a new $10B digitization fund to help accelerate India’s digital economy. We’re proud to support PM @narendramodi’s vision for Digital India - many thanks to Minister @rsprasad & Minister @DrRPNishank for joining us. https://t.co/H0EUFYSD1q

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) July 13, 2020

Google would join Facebook Inc. and a slew of private equity firms piling into billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s technology venture, which has already attracted more than $15 billion of investments in just a few months. An arm of Qualcomm Inc. is the latest in Jio’s growing list of high-profile investors, who also include Silver Lake Partners and Mubadala Investment Co.

The search giant's boss Sundar Pichai, had confirmed reports of Google’s interest in Jio.

Google on Monday said it plans to spend $10 billion over the next five to seven years to help accelerate the adoption of digital technologies in India. Sundar Pichai, who was born in the country and is now chief executive officer of parent Alphabet Inc., said the outbreak of the coronavirus has made clear the importance of technology for conducting business and for connecting with friends and family.

How will Google invest from the $10-billion fund?

These investments will be made through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, operations, infrastructure and ecosystem investments. These include Google’s existing projects such as Internet Saathi for spreading awareness of the Internet in rural villages and an artificial intelligence-based flood forecasting system, among others.

Google said its $10-billion fund would focus on areas such as enabling affordable access to the Internet and to information for every Indian in their own language; building new products and services in segments like consumer tech, education, health and agriculture; empowering businesses, especially small and medium ones, to transform digitally; leveraging technology and artificial intelligence for digital literacy, outbreak predictions, and support for rural economies.

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