Five Tech Giants Betting Big on India: Amazon, Facebook & Others

Alphabet’s Accelerator Programme Set to Mentor and Fund Six Indian Startups

Similar to Microsoft’s accelerator program, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is also helping Indian startups through mentorship and equity-free funding. Just recently, the search engine giant announced that six Indian startups were shortlisted for the Google Launchpad Accelerator Programme at the company’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, California. The six-month long mentorship program includes $50,000 in equity-free funding and will commence in mid-June. The aforementioned six Indian startups include: Taskbob, which offers a range of home services; Programming Hub, which offers an app to learn up to 15 programming languages like Python, HTML, and C, among others; ShareChat, which provides a social networking chat platform in Indian languages that enables video, image, and song sharing; RedCarpet, which provides instant credit for online purchases that is paid in installments later on; PlaySimple Games, which enables users build simple social games; as well as Magic Pin, which allows users to find local merchants and transact with them. Dan Loeb’s Third Point LLC acquired a new stake of 700,000 Class A shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) during the March quarter.

Apple Increases Focus on India as Global iPhone Sales Slump

As global sales of iPhones have been sliding in recent months, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is seeking to concentrate on the world’s second-largest smartphone market, India. According to market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research, the iPhone market holds a minuscule market share in India, with the country accounting for a mere 1% of global iPhone sales in terms of both volume and revenues. Earlier this month, the Cupertino-based company hosted approximately 40 Indian entrepreneurs at its headquarters, where they discussed mobile app development. It is believed that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may soon form a local team in India to engage with local developers in developing India-focused apps for the company’s operating system. While most Indians may opt for cheaper versions of smartphones at the expense of Apple’s relatively high-priced iPhones, an increased number of Indian-focused apps may lure more users to buy iPhones. Just recently, Apple also invested $1 billion in China’s largest cab-hailing service called Didi Chuxin, which represents a strategic investor of India’s largest ride-hailing network called Ola. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway acquired a new stake of 9.81 million shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the first quarter of 2016.

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