Amazon just announced its biggest international bet yet - a $35 billion investment in India through 2030 that will create one million jobs and deliver AI benefits to 15 million small businesses. The move positions Amazon as India's largest foreign investor while quadrupling the country's ecommerce exports to $80 billion.
Amazon just made its boldest international play yet, announcing a $35 billion investment commitment in India through 2030 that dwarfs most tech companies' entire market valuations. The announcement came at Amazon's sixth Smbhav Summit in New Delhi, where the company revealed it's already poured nearly $40 billion into the subcontinent - making it officially India's largest foreign investor.
The numbers tell a compelling story about Amazon's India strategy. According to a Keystone Strategy economic impact report, Amazon has digitized over 12 million small businesses and enabled $20 billion in cumulative ecommerce exports. But the real kicker? The company is supporting 2.8 million jobs across direct, indirect, and seasonal roles in 2024 alone.
"We are humbled to have been a part of India's digital transformation journey over the past 15 years," Amazon Senior VP Emerging Markets Amit Agarwal told attendees. The timing isn't coincidental - India represents Amazon's biggest growth opportunity outside the US, with a rapidly digitizing economy of 1.4 billion potential customers.
The $35 billion commitment breaks down across three strategic pillars that read like Amazon's playbook for dominating emerging markets. First up is AI-driven digitization, where Amazon plans to bring AI benefits to 15 million small businesses by 2030. Sellers on Amazon.in are already using AI-powered tools like Seller Assistant and Next Gen Selling, while shoppers get enhanced experiences through Lens AI for visual discovery and Rufus for conversational shopping.
But Amazon's real masterstroke might be its education play. The company plans to empower 4 million government school students with AI education through curriculum development, technology career tours, and hands-on AI sandbox experiences. This directly supports India's National Education Policy 2020 while creating a pipeline of future Amazon talent - classic long-term thinking that's made Amazon unstoppable in other markets.
The export growth pillar reveals Amazon's broader ambitions. The company wants to quadruple cumulative ecommerce exports to $80 billion by 2030, essentially turning India into a global manufacturing and export hub powered by Amazon's logistics network. This positions Amazon as a key player in India's "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India) initiative while creating massive competitive moats.
