"India will be where some of AI's most important applications are built": Amazon CEO Andy Jassy meets Maharashtra CM Fadnavis, charts digital future in Mumbai
New Delhi, June 24
Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy, on his first India visit since taking the helm of the global e-commerce and cloud giant, met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday to map out a deeper technological integration between the company and India's most industrialised state.
The high-level meeting served as a strategic platform to discuss Amazon's long-term commitment to Maharashtra, which the company describes as the "anchor" of its Indian operations. The discussion bridged the gap between policy and technology, focusing on how Amazon's investments in AI, cloud infrastructure, and logistics can accelerate the state's goal of doubling its economy by 2030.
Amazon, in a press release, said Maharashtra is home to AWS's first India infrastructure Region and a growing technology and operations workforce across Mumbai, Pune and beyond.
"Maharashtra is home to some of Amazon's most important operations in India, including AWS's first India infrastructure Region and a growing technology and operations workforce across Mumbai, Pune and beyond," the company said.
The conversation also covered exports enablement for local sellers and manufacturers and skilling programmes preparing young professionals for future jobs.
According to Amazon, Jassy highlighted how the company is supporting Maharashtra's digital economy through multiple verticals. "The conversation covered how Amazon's investments in AI, cloud infrastructure, e-commerce and logistics are helping businesses in the state grow, reach new customers, and compete globally," Amazon said.
Jassy also discussed how Amazon is supporting the state through exports enablement and skilling initiatives aimed at building talent for the jobs of the future.
The company noted that Maharashtra anchors Amazon's entertainment business in India as well. "Maharashtra is also at the heart of Amazon's entertainment business in India, with Prime Video's creative operations based in Mumbai," Amazon said.
Prime Video continues to commission original Indian stories and work with the state's film and creative community, telling stories from India to more than 240 countries worldwide.
During his visit to India, Jassy also met top Indian business leaders to discuss AI and innovation. Amazon said India has the scale, talent and ambition to shape the next era of AI-led business transformation. "India has the scale, talent and ambition to shape the next era of AI-led business transformation," the company said.
Jassy described AI as the most transformational technology he has seen in his lifetime and pointed to India's deep engineering talent base and pace of digital adoption as reasons the country is positioned not just as a consumer of AI but as a builder and innovator.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As an American who works in tech, I've seen firsthand how Indian engineers contribute to cutting-edge AI projects in the US. Jassy is right—India has the scale and talent to be a global AI hub. But I hope this doesn't just mean more cheap labor for Western companies. Fair wages and IP protection need to be part of the deal.
Good move by Fadnavis—he's been pushing the digital agenda aggressively. But let's be honest, Amazon still has issues with small sellers and worker conditions. I want to see concrete timelines on AI training centers and exports enablement, not just photo ops. Still, any investment in Mumbai's tech ecosystem is welcome. 😊
Prime Video operating from Mumbai and telling Indian stories to 240+ countries—that's true soft power! Between AWS, e-commerce exports, and entertainment, Amazon is betting big on India. Hopefully the skilling programs actually train people for high-value AI roles, not just customer service. Maharashtra leading as always. 👏
I've dealt with AWS's Mumbai region for years—it's robust and reliable. But India needs to ensure its data sovereignty isn't compromised. If AI applications are built here, the data should stay here too. Also, Jassy's comment about 'most important applications' sounds exciting, but let's see if that translates to R&D centers or just more data centers.
So happy to see Amazon committing to Maharashtra! As someone from Pune, I've seen the tech boom here. But I worry—will these AI jobs go to IIT grads only? What about ordinary engineers from
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