Amazon Commits $35 Billion as India Becomes AI and Cloud Hotspot

After a decade of watching India rise as a digital-first economy, Amazon has put down its most definitive marker yet. At the Amazon Smbhav Summit, the company announced an investment of more than $35 billion through 2030, positioning India as a priority market for cloud expansion, AI-driven digitisation, exports and workforce development.

For global tech firms navigating sluggish markets elsewhere, India’s acceleration in cloud adoption and AI experimentation is creating a new competitive front. Amazon’s announcement arrives just as peers intensify their long-term bets on the country’s digital infrastructure and manufacturing potential.

A Decade of Spending Sets Up the Next Phase

Alongside the announcement, Amazon released a new Economic Impact Report by Keystone Strategy. The report shows the company has already invested nearly $40 billion in India since 2010, spanning infrastructure, technology, workforce compensation and digitisation programmes.

According to the findings, this cumulative investment positions Amazon as one of India’s largest foreign investors and among the country’s key enablers of e-commerce exports and job creation.

The report outlines the scale of impact so far:

• 12 million small businesses digitised
• $20 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports enabled
• 2.8 million direct, indirect, induced and seasonal jobs supported in 2024

This investment built Amazon’s physical and digital backbone, including fulfilment centres, logistics networks, data centres, digital payments layers and tech development capabilities.

Aligning with National Priorities

Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President, Emerging Markets, linked the company’s long-term roadmap with India’s national development agenda: “Our growth over the past 15 years is perfectly aligned with the vision of an Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat,” he said. “We have invested at scale in growing the physical and digital infrastructure for small businesses in India, creating millions of jobs, and taking Made-in-India global.”

Amazon now aims to:

• Democratize access to AI for millions of Indians
• Create 1 million new job opportunities by 2030
• Quadruple cumulative exports to $80 billion

Expanding India’s Export Engine

The company’s Global Selling programme has crossed $20 billion in cumulative exports in its ten-year journey. With an ambitious plan to accelerate this, Amazon launched Accelerate Exports, a manufacturing-focused initiative designed to:

• Connect digital entrepreneurs with vetted manufacturers
• Enable manufacturers to become global sellers
• Scale onboarding in key clusters including Tirupur, Kanpur and Surat

A partnership with the Apparel Export Promotion Council of India aims to amplify the programme’s reach across major manufacturing hubs.

AI Becomes the Core of the India Strategy

India’s AI moment is reshaping enterprise priorities, consumer behaviour and digital public infrastructure. Amazon’s new AI agenda aligns with the government’s “AI for All” vision and focuses on both economic and educational impact.

The plan includes:

•  AI-driven tools for 15 million small businesses
• Enhanced customer experience through innovations like Lens AI, Rufus conversational shopping, and multilingual features.
• AI education and career exposure for 4 million government school students, supported by curriculum programs, workshops and teacher training under NEP 2020

By integrating AI across logistics, retail, manufacturing and digital commerce, Amazon’s investments seek to deepen its presence across India’s evolving economic fabric.

Global Competition Intensifies

The announcement comes at a moment when major U.S. tech firms are accelerating their presence in India’s AI and cloud landscape. While Amazon aims to strengthen all its businesses, the increased activity from global rivals underscores India’s growing relevance as a strategic technology hub.

With cumulative investments crossing $40 billion since 2010 and a fresh $35 billion commitment through 2030, Amazon is reinforcing its long-term position in a market where digital adoption is expanding faster than most global counterparts.