Investments and partnerships between major tech companies are quite common and can have significant implications for the companies involved as well as the broader market. Googles investment of $350 million in Flipkart for a minority stake suggests a strategic move to strengthen its position in the Indian e-commerce market, which is highly competitive and rapidly growing.According to the sources, the tech giant is all set to invest $350 million into Flipkart for a minority stake. It is also said that Walmart has invested almost $600 million into Flipkart as a part of a funding round in December last year. Without disclosing specifics of the agreement, Flipkart stated that it is contingent upon both parties receiving regulatory and other usual approvals.It is also said that capital gained from the primary round will be invested in verticals like Cleartrip and Shopsy. Shopsy is the center of Flipkarts heightened attention at the moment, while rival Meesho is preparing a $500–650 million investment.Noteworthy here is that this is not the first time when Flipkart is working with the IT behemoth. Flipkart currently uses Azure from Microsoft, as well as its internal cloud infrastructure, provided by Google. Microsoft and Flipkart inked a deal in 2017 for Azure to become the e-tailers sole public cloud platform. Microsoft contributed a total of $200 million as part of the agreement.In advance of a scheduled local IPO, Flipkart has raised additional funding as it gets ready to relocate its headquarters from Singapore back to India.It should be highlighted that this investment could potentially provide Flipkart with additional resources for expansion and innovation while offering Google opportunities for collaboration and integration of its services with Flipkarts platform.
