Amazon has announced a $120 million allocation from its Smbhav Venture Fund to invest in startups focused on digitizing consumer goods manufacturing in India. The initiative is part of a broader effort to expand the fund to $350 million, with a focus on fostering innovation in manufacturing, catering to domestic and global markets.
This development was highlighted at the fifth edition of Amazon’s annual Smbhav summit in New Delhi. The Smbhav Venture Fund, launched in 2021, originally concentrated on agriculture and healthcare startups but has since broadened its scope to include direct-to-consumer brands, fintech, gaming, and manufacturing.
The fund has supported several startups, including The Good Glamm Group, FreshToHome, Hopscotch, and smallcase, aiming to leverage technology for growth. According to Abhijeet Muzumdar, Vice President and Head of the Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund, the initiative offers startups not only capital but also access to synergies across Amazon’s diverse business portfolio, including logistics, cloud computing, and AI.
Amazon also unveiled two logistics services, Amazon Freight and Amazon Shipping, to support businesses in India. These services aim to provide transparent pricing and seamless integration for both B2B and B2C operations, catering to enterprises of varying scales.
Additionally, Amazon reaffirmed its commitment to achieving $80 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports from India by 2030, a fourfold increase over its earlier target. Since 2015, Amazon’s Global Selling program has facilitated $13 billion in exports for Indian sellers.
The memorandum of understanding signed between Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) emphasizes aligning with government objectives to boost manufacturing and job creation in India.