We are focussed on Made in India, for India, by India

With a user base of over 37 million, India is a market LinkedIn cannot ignore. With its recent India-specific product launches, the platform has firmly set its sights on the long term, says CEO Jeff Weiner.

- DeBojyoti Ghosh

In June this year, technology giant Microsoft corp announced the acquisition of professional networking platform LinkedIn in an all-cash deal valued at $26.2 billion (around rs 175,000 crore), which is expected to close by the end of this calendar year. While analysts feel the acquisition is a smart move by Microsoft to ramp up its enterprise business, LinkedIn views it as an opportunity to expand its platform to over a billion Microsoft customers.

In an interview with Forbes India, Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedIn, says he is confident about product integration between the two companies and that each can leverage the other’s core strengths. During a recent visit to India—LinkedIn’s fastest growing market since it began its journey in the country in November 2009 with over 3.4 million members— Weiner talked about the synergies with Microsoft, LinkedIn’s plans for India and what makes the country one of its key research and development (r&D) bases driving innovation globally. edited excerpts:

Q LinkedIn launched three new products in September [LinkedIn Lite for mobile browsing, LinkedIn Placements to help students find job placements and the LinkedIn Starter Pack for startups and small- and mid sized businesses], for the Indian market. What made you develop such country-specific products?