Google invests $350 million in Flipkart in a bet to control India

Google has invested nearly $350 million in Flipkart, becoming the latest big-name company to back the Walmart-owned Indian startup.

Specifically, Flipkart explained in a press release that the tech company will also provide it with cloud offerings as part of the deal. Google's investment is part of a nearly $1 billion (€921 million) funding round Flipkart launched in 2023. Walmart led the round, having invested $600 million (about €553 million) at the end of 2023. Microsoft is also an investor in Flipkart.

Flipkart, valued at $36 billion (about 33,157 million euros) with this injection, leads the e-commerce market in the Indian country. In addition, it also owns the fashion e-commerce platform Myntra, which controls around 48% of the Indian e-commerce market.

Indian e-commerce keeps growing strong 

The Indian e-commerce market is estimated to reach $133 billion (about €122.489 billion) by 2025.

"Indian e-commerce is seeing the emergence of competitors. Amazon and Flipkart remain leaders driven by strengths in the mobile, consumer electronics, and home appliances category. However, unlike the big horizontal winners in the global e-commerce market, India is likely to see category winners such as Blinkit (fast commerce), Meesho (tier 2+ marketplaces), and Nykaa (vertical commerce) as they grow," analysts recently explained.

Google, which reaches more than 500 million people in India, sees the country as a key overseas market. The company unveiled plans to invest $10 billion (about 9,208.8 million euros) in Indian companies by 2020. Since then, it has invested $4.5 billion (€4,143.8 million) in telecom operator Jio Platforms and another $1 billion (€920.8 million) in Airtel.

It is estimated that e-commerce in India will reach annual growth rates of 18% through 2025. By 2030, India is anticipated to emerge as the third-largest consumer market globally, underlining the vast opportunities and potential that lie ahead of the e-commerce sector in the country.