Google intensifies cloud war, ties enterprise deals to its AI

Google is using its in-house AI models, platforms to win long-term contracts with Indian cos

- shouvik [e-mail]

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian at the Google Cloud Next conference in Las Vegas

Six years after shifting its focus beyond consumer applications to enterprise deals, Google’s cloud division in India is using in-house artificial intelligence models and platforms to win long-term contracts.

In an interview with Mint, Sashikumar Sreedharan, managing director of Google Cloud India, said the company is increasingly seeing businesses in the country agree to long-term cloud deals, as long as the propositions are led by how they can use Google’s Gemini suite of AI models and apps.

“India is a large, growing market where enterprises, especially small and medium businesses (SMBs), are continuing to digitize. They’re also seeking digital transformation deals where they get access to latest AI tools that work on top of their own data. Add agentic AI capabilities to this, and we’re actively pursuing cloud deals where Gemini plays key roles,” Sreedharan said.

This, he added, is “true for both businesses that are already engaged with other cloud services as well as new clients—India is a growing market, so there’s no shortage of business here”.