Google invests $10 billion in digitalization, opens global fintech center in Gujarat: CEO Sundar Pichai
The Indian-born CEO said it is exciting to see the progress the country has made, particularly around the Digital India vision and economic opportunity.
Washington: After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said Google will invest $10 billion in India’s digitization fund and announced the opening of its global fintech operations center in Gujarat.
Pichai praised Modi’s vision for Digital India stating that it was ahead of its time and other countries are following suit. He said: “It was an honor to meet Prime Minister Modi during the historic visit to the US. We have told the Prime Minister that Google is investing USD 10 billion in the Indian Digitization Fund… We are pleased to announce today the opening of our global fintech operations center in the GIFT city of Gujarat.”
VIDEO | “His (Prime Minister Modi’s) vision for Digital India was ahead of its time,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai after meeting Prime Minister Modi in Washington.#PMModiUSVisit pic.twitter.com/y2EiK1Zi7F
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Notably, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City is a central business district under construction in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat, India. PM’s vision for Digital India was ahead of its time. I now see it as a blueprint that other countries want to do,” Pichai said after meeting Prime Minister Modi.
The Indian-born CEO said it is exciting to see the progress the country has made, particularly around the Digital India vision and economic opportunity.
“I met the Prime Minister in December and we continued our conversation. We mentioned that Google is investing $10 billion in the Indian Digitization Fund and we continue to invest that, including in companies working on artificial intelligence. As part of that, we have a 100 languages initiative. We are bringing bot to more Indian languages soon,” Pichai said.
Pichai, who joined Google in 2004, became CEO of the company in 2015. Prime Minister Modi had congratulated him on his appointment as CEO.
Sundar Pichai met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi last December and said it was inspiring to see the rapid pace of technological change under his leadership. Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said he looks forward to continuing strong partnerships and supporting India’s G20 presidency in advancing an open internet that works for everyone.
During his visit to India last year, Pichai also attended the 8th edition of the Google for India event in the presence of Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology.
The State Department said in a tweet that Prime Minister Modi had invited Pichai to explore further opportunities for cooperation on artificial intelligence, fintech and cybersecurity products and services, as well as mobile device manufacturing in India.
They also discussed cooperation between Google and academic institutions in India to promote research and development and skills development, the ministry added.
PM Modi with top business leaders
On the last leg of the official tour, Prime Minister Modi met with several top business leaders, including Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy, Mahindra and Mahindra chairman Anand Mahindra, and Boeing CEO David Calhoun.
“A lot of things have changed now. There’s a kind of common need that I didn’t see exist before. America has recognized that India is key to its own long-term prospects,” Mahindra and Mahindra Chairman Anand Mahindra said after the meeting.
Amazon CEO Jassy said the company is considering investing $15 billion in India. “I had a very good and productive interaction with Prime Minister Modi. We have already invested $11 billion in India, with the intention of investing another $15 billion, bringing the total to $26 billion.”
Boeing CEO David L Calhoun said in an exclusive interview with ANI: “The main takeaway is the Prime Minister’s passion for India’s development. He does have a specific interest in aviation, in space travel. It’s a big vision.”
He stressed the importance of India playing an important role not only for the country but also for the wider region in aerospace. While Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy expressed his commitment to create additional employment opportunities in India after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington DC.
“Very interested in helping create more jobs, helping digitize more small and medium-sized businesses, and helping more Indian companies and products to export around the world,” said Jassy.