Amazon India to Invest $120 Mn in Startups, Boosts Exports; Health Sector Among Key Focus Areas

At its annual event, Amazon emphasized its commitment to supporting technology-driven startups in health and nutrition, which remain high-demand categories for its “Made in India” export initiatives.

Amazon India has announced a $120 million addition to its Smbhav Venture Fund, increasing the total fund size to $350 million.

The fund, launched in 2021, initially focused on agriculture and health, however, it has now expanded to include other sectors such as manufacturing, fintech, gaming, and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands.

At its annual event, Amazon emphasized its commitment to supporting technology-driven startups in health and nutrition, which remain high-demand categories for its “Made in India” export initiatives.

Samir Kumar, Country Manager at Amazon India, said, “This significant milestone will be driven by a combination of enabling exports through Amazon’s Global Selling program for Indian MSMEs, manufacturers, and D2C startups as well as sourcing Made-in-India products to be sold on Amazon’s global marketplaces.”

Health & Export Growth

Amazon highlighted the growing global demand for Indian products in categories such as health and nutrition supplements, Ayurveda, toys, and textiles.

Further, the company aims to facilitate $80 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports from India by 2030, a significant rise from its earlier pledge of $20 billion by 2025.

Since 2015, Amazon has enabled nearly $13 billion in exports through its Global Selling program, which now includes over 1.5 lakh registered sellers from 200 cities across India. Sellers are projected to exceed $20 billion in cumulative exports by the end of 2024.

Amazon also announced the official launch of its logistics services, Amazon Freight and Amazon Shipping, after successful pilot runs in India. These services aim to streamline transportation and delivery, with Amazon Freight focusing on intra-city and inter-city truckload services, while Amazon Shipping covers last-mile deliveries across 14,000 pin codes.

These expansions build on Amazon’s earlier introduction of Amazon Air in India, which launched in January 2023 to provide a dedicated air cargo network—the first of its kind by an e-commerce company in the country.

In addition to its funding and logistics initiatives, Amazon revealed it has digitized 12 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India, surpassing its earlier target of 10 million. This effort has created nearly 1.4 million direct and indirect jobs.

Amazon’s initiatives continue to prioritize technological advancement, with health and AI startups forming a core part of its strategy to empower Indian businesses and expand global opportunities.

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