Confronting Microsoft head-on! Amazon increases its bet on India's AI dominance by $35 billion

Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce global competition in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, technology giant Amazon (AMZN) is once again doubling down on the Indian market. The company announced on the 10th of this month (Wednesday) that it plans to invest over $35 billion (approximately NT$1 trillion) in India by 2030, focusing on cloud services, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure to align with the Indian government's national development direction and accelerate the growth of the local AI ecosystem. Amazon emphasized in its statement that this investment, expected to be made before 2030, will create over 1 million new job opportunities in India. This investment builds on Amazon's nearly $40 billion (approximately NT$1.2 trillion) already invested in India, further demonstrating the company's high optimism about the prospects of India's digital economy. The funds will primarily be used for three strategic directions: promoting digital transformation through artificial intelligence, assisting Indian companies in increasing their cumulative export value to $80 billion, and creating a large number of direct and indirect job positions. Currently, Amazon has established a complete infrastructure in India, including logistics centers, data centers, and digital payment systems, and continues to strengthen its support system for small and medium-sized enterprises. In the future, the company plans to assist over 15 million small and medium-sized enterprises in improving efficiency and competitiveness through the introduction of artificial intelligence tools. The head of Amazon's emerging markets business pointed out that the company has been continuously involved in and witnessed India's digitalization process over the past fifteen years, and will further promote the popularization of AI technology to benefit more businesses and the public. Notably, the timing of this investment announcement comes right after Microsoft announced its $17.5 billion "India AI Investment Plan," reflecting the intensifying competition between the two tech giants in this highly potential market. As the most populous country in the world and the fifth-largest economy in South Asia, India is expected to surpass 900 million internet users by the end of this year. This vast and continuously expanding digital market remains an important high-growth territory for American tech companies like Amazon and Google, even though they must contend with local regulatory restrictions and strong competition from domestic players. Amazon is currently actively chasing competitors such as Flipkart, Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto, which have successfully attracted a large number of Indian consumers with their near-instant delivery services. However, experts warn that while large-scale investments are expected to drive job creation and technological advancement, India still faces challenges such as unstable power supply, difficulties in land acquisition, and varying regulations across regions, all of which could impact the construction progress of data centers and AI infrastructure