Amazon.com Inc. today announced plans to invest $35 billion in India through the end of the decade.

Executives detailed the initiative at the sixth edition of a business event the company holds annually in New Delhi. According to Amazon, the investment will support “all its businesses.” That suggests some of the funds could go toward growing Amazon Web Services Inc.’s local presence.

AWS inaugurated its first cloud region, or data center cluster, in India about a decade ago. A second cloud region followed suit in 2022. Following the latter launch, AWS pledged to invest $4.4 billion in India through 2030. It’s unclear whether the investment plan announced today will see Amazon grow that sum.

The company stated that one of the $35 billion initiative’s goals is “expanding AI capabilities.” That hints AWS may deploy more AI-optimized data center infrastructure in India. Microsoft Corp., Amazon’s top rival in the cloud market, is taking similar steps.

On Tuesday, the Windows developer announced plans to invest $17.5 billion in India over the next four years. A part of the capital will go toward growing its local AI infrastructure. According to Microsoft, the effort will focus on a new data center cluster in Hyderabad that will come online next year.

Microsoft already operates data centers in the city. It also has Azure facilities in two other tech hubs, Chennai and Pune. The company disclosed on occasion of the investment that it has more 22,000 employees in the Indian cities where it operates. 

AWS’ new investment will focus not only on its cloud business but also the e-commerce market. According to the company, some of the capital will go towards growing the warehouses and delivery network it uses to process online orders. As of 2020, Amazon operated more than 60 fulfillment centers in India.

The company’s local e-commerce subsidiary, Amazon Seller Services, saw its operating revenue climb 14% to the equivalent of $2.82 billion during fiscal 2024. This year, the unit grew its top line by another 19% and moved closer towards profitability. 

Many local businesses in India use Amazon to export their merchandise to international buyers. According to the company, its platform has facilitated $20 billion in exports to date. Amazon hopes to quadruple that number to $80 billion by the end of the decade as part of its new investment plan. 

The company expects the initiative to fuel local job creation. Amazon estimates that it will support about 3.8 million direct, indirect, induced and seasonal positions in 2030, up from 2.8 million last year.

Photo: Amazon