As part of a $10 billion commitment to the country, the search giant will invest as much as $1 billion in the Indian telecom operator.
It will invest $700 million to acquire a 1.28 percent stake in the second largest telecom operator in India with over 300 million subscribers, and then spend up to $300 million more to explore multi-year commercial agreements with the company.
The two firms will work to expand the range of devices that can be purchased by consumers through innovative affordability programs. They said that they will explore partnerships with smartphone makers to make more affordable phones.
Airtel is a pioneer in India's digital future, and we are proud to partner with them on a shared vision to ensure equitable access to the internet for more Indians.
Our commercial and equity investment in Airtel is a continuation of our efforts to increase access to smartphones, enhance connectivity to support new business models, and help companies on their digital transformation journey.
The store is in Kolkata, India. The photo was taken by Debarchan Chatterjee/Nur Photo.
Friday's announcement comes at a time when the two companies are trying to repay billions of dollars they owe the Indian government. The Indian government is the largest shareholder of the company.
The richest man in Asia is running a platform called Jio Platforms. Thanks to its cut rate voice calls and data offerings, the company has 400 million subscribers in India. In 2020, the company invested $4.5 billion. More than a dozen firms have backed the firm.
The two companies collaborated to build a custom phone that they initially said would be aimed at the mass market. The price of the phone is too high to reach much of the population, analysts said. In India, Pichai said that many markets need phones at a price point of $30 for mass adoption. The cost of the phone is about $87.
The company said on Friday that it will explore larger strategic goals with companies like Google and possibly co-create India-specific network use cases for 5G and other standards.
The companies plan to work together on the cloud in India. Friday's announcement will help accelerate digital adoption, as it already serves over 1 million small and medium-sized businesses.
The vision to grow India's digital dividend through innovative products is shared by Airtel and Google. With our future ready network, digital platforms, last mile distribution and payments ecosystems, we look forward to working closely with Google to increase the depth and breadth of India's digital ecosystem, said the Chairman of Bharti Airtel in a statement.
India has over 600 million internet users and is one of the last great growth markets for American technology groups. Tens of millions of Indians have internet access thanks to programs run by both Facebook and Google.
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