Startups and India’s largest IT companies have teamed up against Google, which controls 99% of the smartphone market in the country. Local developers intend to create their own store in order not to pay a 30% commission on Google Play.What made Indian companies unite?

For the first time, the creation of a coalition was discussed a few weeks ago, when Google officially required developers to conduct all transactions through its payment system.

TechCrunch reports that more than 150 startups and companies are working on the initiative.

  • Among them are Paytm, MakeMyTrip, ShareChat and many others;Last Tuesday, about 60 heads of local companies held preliminary talks on the creation of an association to confront Google;
  • also, hundreds of other startups expressed their desire to join the coalition after the first online meeting;
  • “We have yet to determine the structure of this coalition, but Google definitely forced us to create it,” said Vishal Gondal, CEO of fitness startup GOQii.
  • What do Indian companies want to achieve?

Since it is difficult for developers in India to distribute applications outside of Google Play, they want to create their own store;

  • most likely, companies cannot do without government intervention in solving this problem.
  • Google’s huge influence has already aroused the interest of the local government, which has launched antitrust checks against the company;The companies also want the state to protect the interests of local startups, and intend to reduce Google’s influence on the Indian Internet;
  • at the same time, some experts are skeptical about government support.
  • “The initiative will work if the country passes a bill that all Android smartphones sold in India must have a built-in local store. But I really would not like the monopoly of one large company to be replaced by the monopoly of the state,” says Aman Nair, policy officer at the Indian Center for Internet and Society.Also on the topic:


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