According to the two firms, Google would invest up to $1 billion in a partnership with India’s Airtel to bring affordable smartphones to over a billion Indians and accelerate the adoption of cloud-based computing for business.
In a blog post, Google claimed the investment will help India’s small companies adopt digital tools as the country attempts to integrate digital education, payments, and e-commerce in the face of the pandemic.
Google will pay $700 million for a 1.28 percent investment in Airtel as part of the “Google for India Digitization Fund,” which was launched in 2020. Airtel stated in a statement that it will invest up to $300 million in commercial partnerships over the next five years.
The firms also intend to collaborate on software for 5G and other standards, according to the statement.
Airtel is a worldwide communications solutions provider based in India with over 480 million users spread across 17 countries in South Asia and Africa.
In India, Google’s services are used by around 100 million people. It has been in legal difficulty with India’s Competition Commission, which claims the business has misused its Android system’s strong position in the Smart TV market segment. Smart TV manufacturers, according to regulators, have no choice but to use Android and must consequently install Google’s apps.
Google has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that its licensing arrangements are legal.
