Google is betting big on India. This would have been obvious when its CEO, the India-born Sundar Pichai announced his company's commitment to invest $10 billion over 5 to 7 years.
And when you hear him explain in detail about his company's plans, you undestand there is both business strategy and social vision in Google's scheme of things in India.
"We are trying to develop apps in India. We want to invest in companies that are doing that," Sundar Pichai has told Economic Times.
Asked about how Google intends to spend the $10-billion fund, Pichai said his company is looking at venture-type investments in small companies as well buy large stakes in big companies. "We are definitely going to look at both, a combination of venture capital — we have been doing it through Google Ventures in India and scaling them that way — but definitely, given the size of the digitisation fund, there is opportunity to directly invest in bigger companies as well. Both are in the mix, as also infrastructure investments (such as) data centres. We expect a large portion of this (fund) to go into actually investing in Indian companies."
In any case, Google had previously invested in a few Indian enterprises. And they include some aquisitions too. Dunzo, Fynd (it has exited it now), Halli Labs, Where Is My Train.
And through Capital G (previously Google Capital, and it helps companies grow faster by advising them), Google is advising companies like Practo, Cardekho, Aye Finance, CommonFloor, Cuemath, Freshworks.
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Google too is going vocal for local
The foundation of the country, the strong interest in technology, which I feel every time I come there. From the Prime Minister’s office, having laid out a vision for Digital India, all these are unique factors.
Google CEO
The popular mood in India, for various reasons, is to go local with vehemence. Google seems to understand this, and Pichai says his company will use the local talent and infrastructure to further its growth.
"India has local talent, access to a large market, strong entrepreneurial and venture capital foundation to see this through. As a company, we are committed to it. We are trying to develop apps in India. We want to invest in companies that are doing that. We are excited by that vision and want to help play a small role in accelerating that trend," he was quoted as saying in the interview.
More importantly, Pichai feels India offers a unique opportunity (as opposed to other countries like China). "The foundation of the country, the strong interest in technology, which I feel every time I come there. From the Prime Minister’s office, having laid out a vision for Digital India, all these are unique factors as also the size of the market."
Thank you for your time, PM @narendramodi - very optimistic about your vision for Digital India and excited to continue our work towards it. Later today we’ll share our next steps on that journey at #GoogleForIndia.July 13, 2020
Google for privacy primacy
Given the pace of digital transformation, I think, and I know he (Modi) has made strides with privacy legislation.
Sundar Pichai
Asked about the proposal to get companies like Google and Amazon to share anonymous data with the government, Pichai said he saw it as an opportunity to use technology to drive social good. "We’ve done it in education, our recent work in flood forecasting in India, is (also) a good example. We are definitely happy to partner with governments in compliance with laws, in a democratic society you have the right framework."
Pichai had a good word for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his stand on privacy measures. "Given the pace of digital transformation, I think, and I know he (Modi) has made strides with privacy legislation. And so, with the privacy framework creating the right construct for public private partnerships, I think it’s a good thing."
On the contentious topic of Google depriving ad money flowing to publishers across the world, Pichai had a different take. "We’re deeply committed to journalism, the role (it plays), particularly in democratic societies. Through our products we are very focused on driving traffic to publishers and we have incorporated news as part of our experiences to reflect its importance."
"Through ad technologies, we support both publishers and share a significant part of the revenue back with the publishers," he added.
Source: Economic Times.
