BENGALURU: Sundar Picahi, CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet, said the company will remain focused on accelerating growth in India’s digital ecosystem and expanding partnerships in the region. Pichai addressed an investor call after the company announced its March quarter results on Wednesday.
When asked about the development of Google Pay and his ambitions to make the service even more useful, Pichai replied: “…And you mentioned the work in India, which certainly got the start… 150 million people in 40 countries use Google Pay … And then we will innovate over time and create new digital experiences. A simple example that you saw was that we introduced the ability for users to pay for parking on Google Pay with their voice, simply by using the Google Assistant.”
Pichai said hybrid workplace models are here to stay. “Even as more people return to in-person activities, we see that hybrid approaches to learning and working endure, and our products help partners capitalize on these new opportunities,” he said.
He said to support its flexible work schedules this year, Google plans to invest about $9.5 billion in its US offices and data centers and create at least 12,000 new Google jobs in the US in places like New York and Atlanta to accomplish.
Regarding the controversial service fee for apps on Google Play, Pichai said that 99% of app developers are entitled to a service fee of 15% or less. “While this has impacted our short-term results, we think it’s the right long-term approach to supporting the ecosystem and being the most developer-friendly app store and gaming platform out there. We are also looking at alternative billing options. And while we do so, we will continue to maintain high standards of security that protect personal data and sensitive financial information.”
He said to enable long-term growth, the company is investing in areas like cloud, AI, YouTube and search. Alphabet’s board of directors has approved $70 billion in share buybacks, up significantly from the $50 billion last year.
When asked about the development of Google Pay and his ambitions to make the service even more useful, Pichai replied: “…And you mentioned the work in India, which certainly got the start… 150 million people in 40 countries use Google Pay … And then we will innovate over time and create new digital experiences. A simple example that you saw was that we introduced the ability for users to pay for parking on Google Pay with their voice, simply by using the Google Assistant.”
Pichai said hybrid workplace models are here to stay. “Even as more people return to in-person activities, we see that hybrid approaches to learning and working endure, and our products help partners capitalize on these new opportunities,” he said.
He said to support its flexible work schedules this year, Google plans to invest about $9.5 billion in its US offices and data centers and create at least 12,000 new Google jobs in the US in places like New York and Atlanta to accomplish.
Regarding the controversial service fee for apps on Google Play, Pichai said that 99% of app developers are entitled to a service fee of 15% or less. “While this has impacted our short-term results, we think it’s the right long-term approach to supporting the ecosystem and being the most developer-friendly app store and gaming platform out there. We are also looking at alternative billing options. And while we do so, we will continue to maintain high standards of security that protect personal data and sensitive financial information.”
He said to enable long-term growth, the company is investing in areas like cloud, AI, YouTube and search. Alphabet’s board of directors has approved $70 billion in share buybacks, up significantly from the $50 billion last year.
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