Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announces 19% YoY growth, India’s LinkedIn user base crosses 100 million
- ByStartupStory | April 27, 2023
LinkedIn, the networking platform, experienced a 19% year-on-year (YoY) surge in its user count in India to over 100 million at the end of the quarter concluding in March 2023. Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, stated during the quarterly earnings conference call that “we now have 100 Mn members in India, up 19%. And as Gen Z enters the workforce, we saw a 73% year-over-year increase in the number of student sign-ups.”
According to reports, a senior executive at Microsoft India highlighted the importance of the Indian market during the release of the financial report. Irina Ghose, the CEO of its Indian arm, reportedly stated to CNBC-TV18 that the company is experiencing a high demand across various industries in the country. She further added that the company plans to invest more to expand its local cloud infrastructure, having already doubled its cloud capacity in India since the pandemic.
LinkedIn’s India user count reached over 100 million, growing by 19% YoY at the end of Q1 FY23, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The platform has witnessed a 73% YoY increase in the number of student sign-ups as Gen Z enters the workforce. Additionally, Irina Ghose, CEO of Microsoft India, has expressed the company’s plan to scale up its local cloud infrastructure and invest further in the country, which is an “important” market for Microsoft. LinkedIn India has become the fastest-growing market for LinkedIn in terms of member engagement, with users spending over 4.6 million hours on the platform in 2022.
The rise of LinkedIn in India reflects the overall growth trend of the country’s digital industry, facilitated by low internet costs and budget-friendly smartphones. In 2022, Indians spent a total of 740 billion hours on mobile applications, and the country was responsible for over 28 billion app downloads, representing 5% of the world’s total downloads. Additionally, India had 700 million active internet users by the close of 2022.
The potential of India’s vast digital market has attracted major tech companies and social media platforms like Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, and Netflix to expand their operations in the country. They have invested in Indian startups and enterprises, opened local offices, and launched India-specific products and offerings to tap into the rapidly growing digital economy. Despite facing regulatory and legal challenges, these tech giants are determined to capitalize on the opportunities presented by India’s digital landscape.
Therefore, these players have made India one of their largest global markets. Google, for instance, has a $10 billion India Digitization Fund (IDF), while Microsoft and Meta have also invested billions of dollars to attract Indian users. A senior Meta executive had said last year that India has become the most crucial country for testing new offerings. The company’s products, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, are highly popular in the country and represent a market worth INR 1.61 lakh crore for the company.
India is a significant market for several big tech players including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Twitter due to the country’s growing digital economy. These companies have invested heavily in India, with Google having a $10 billion India Digitization Fund (IDF) and Microsoft and Meta pumping billions of dollars into the Indian market. However, regulatory hurdles have emerged as a major challenge for these tech giants, with many platforms facing legal challenges. Despite this, these companies are continuing to expand their operations in India as they aim to cash in on the growing digital ecosystem.
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