Amazon to invest $233 million in India to expand operations infra

MUMBAI: Amazon will invest $233 million (over Rs 2,000 crore) in India this year to expand and upgrade the company’s operations infrastructure in the country. Portions of the capital will also be deployed to build new tools and technology for the firm’s fulfilment network as the Seattle-based e-commerce company takes on deep-pocketed startups Zepto, Zomato and Swiggy in the cash guzzling quick commerce space.

“This new investment builds on top of Amazon’s investments in creating an ops network that helps the company deliver to all serviceable pin-codes across India. This investment will enhance processing capacity, improve fulfilment speed and increase efficiency across the company’s operations network that will help Amazon serve customers across India faster,” the firm said in a statement on Thursday.For Amazon which entered India twelve years back and was largely operating in a two-player e-commerce market alongside Walmart controlled Flipkart for a good few years, competition has now grown with startups such as Meesho backed by storied investors like SoftBank foraying into the market and carving a space of its own by targeting a whole new set of customers who were underserved.

Big conglomerates such as Reliance Industries and The Tata Group are also investing in e-commerce.

Besides, startups Swiggy, Zepto and Zomato’s Blinkit have created a growing market for 10-minute deliveries in India, a new challenge for Amazon which has been late to enter the quick commerce space.As more Indians become tech savvy and move online to shop for everything ranging from groceries to apparel, companies are sharpening strategies to stay ahead of the game. Amazon plans to take its India investment to $26 billion by 2030. “By strengthening our infrastructure capabilities….we’re positioning Amazon to better serve customers throughout India,” said Abhinav Singh, VP, operations at Amazon India and Australia.Amazon will also expand initiatives for improving the health and financial well-being of employees and associates across the operations network.