BT EXCLUSIVE: 'We will invest more in India and from India to the world,' says Google boss Sundar Pichai

It is a sunday night in San Francisco and Sundar Pichai is all set for a chat. As CEO of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary, Google, he runs a business with $258 billion in revenues. However, it’s not all work for this 50-year-old cricket buff as he laments India’s exit at the Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. He reiterates that nothing will stop him from being in India for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. “I plan to be there,” he quips. In an exclusive interview over Google Meet with Business Today’s Sourav Majumdar and Krishna Gopalan, Pichai speaks candidly on a host of issues related to Search, Cloud, technological disruption, YouTube, regulation and, of course, India. Edited excerpts:

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We are in a VUCA world and this is coupled with a possible global economic crisis. How do you see this scenario playing out from your perspective?

It is an extraordinary time of uncertainty and I think the focus from central banks in handling both inflation and rising interest rates defines it to some extent. Like any other large global company, we are dependent on GDP growth and there is obviously caution. From my standpoint, you need to focus on things that are in your control. That means looking at our core priorities and approaching our work more efficiently.

That said, we must make sure our products are working, including what we offer to our advertisers, since they are trying to be more efficient with their spends. In moments like these, the strength of Search is important in terms of being more effective as a product. Over time, we are also investing in AI to make some of our products work even better for advertisers. It really comes down to making it simpler and in line with their budgets.

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On digital, there is a lot that is going on with immersive technologies globally, be it the metaverse, AR and VR. In that backdrop, how do you see the Web 3.0 story playing out?

As Google, we definitely think about AR. It is no different from how we have evolved from mobile and living today in a multi-device ecosystem, with watches, tablets and so on... One day, when computing can augment what we are doing, we may not always need to use our phone. Therefore, we definitely see potential in AR and are investing for that.

Last year, we saw Google Glass and the immersive view in Maps or multi-search—all these mean we are building for a world where we are working not just with a phone in mind but also laying the foundation for an AR world. We are also looking at how Android can support AR. I see AR as a natural extension and evolution of computing. There will be use cases with Glasses and some information on it and that is easier than the AR/VR experience.

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Are we close to Glass in an immersive format?

The objective is to have a more immersive experience but it will take a bit of time. In fact, it will be a few years before it [Glass] goes mainstream and we are helping prepare the ecosystem for that.

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What are your thoughts around innovation in a VUCA world that is prone to disruption?

As a technology company, it’s important to work through these moments well since constant innovation is necessary. For example, a lot of progress has been made on AI. Or there is a lot of excitement on large language models and we are investing in all these areas as well—both, for us to improve our products like Search and YouTube and also through Cloud to bring it to our partners. Therefore, I am, in some ways, focussed on how we as a company can invest in some of these new areas, when overall we are constrained in terms of how we can invest. That means we will need to reprioritise and free up enough resources where we can, and put them into our most important projects. Those are the kind of trade-offs we need to do. We are absolutely committed to innovating in this space—we have been an AI-first company for a while and we are very focussed on this.

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What will be the key growth drivers for Google globally and in India?

Globally, when we speak of giving access to information and knowledge, we still think these are early days. With AI, we will continue to build deeper and more meaningful experiences. The biggest growth driver will be in our core knowledge and information [services] such as Search, YouTube and Maps. We are very focussed on computing as a growth driver. In Android, we have our own hardware driver, which is Pixel. The focus is not just phones but beyond that—such as watches, tablets or cars transforming to a digital experience, or what does the connected experience in your home look like. Plus, those are investment areas as well.

The third biggest growth driver is Google Cloud. These are still early days of digital transformation. Google has been a cloud native company from day one. We will continue to invest there. Underneath all that is AI, which will create new opportunities beyond all this over time.

Coming to India, the additional area of excitement comes down to the headroom on digitisation and digital adoption. The question is, how do we scale up to reach more people? That’s an example of something that is uniquely Indian. Even when we launched 24 new languages with AI, eight of them were from India—Assamese, Bhojpuri and so on. We take a long-term view on this and a part of the reason why we work with [Reliance] Jio on a more affordable set of phones is simply because India has these aspects—where the journey to reach Indian consumers and help them make that shift to digital with the opportunity it creates makes it so unique and big. I also look at India as a large market where we can do things first and then take it outside or just a “Make in India” model. Google Pay was a big success story and that has laid the foundation for taking it elsewhere. YouTube Shorts is another example where a lot of experimentation was in India and we are now taking it outside [India].

I think bringing Cloud and AI to the Indian business sector is interesting. In India, certain businesses can leapfrog and build future infrastructure. In areas like cybersecurity, India plays an important role in the connected internet and will be a major player in the global economy.

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How do you view the Google story in India so far? Is the best yet to come?

For the past few years, seeing the quality of entrepreneurs in India makes me bullish about what the Indian ecosystem can enable. That was part of the reason why we announced the [$10-billion Google for] India Digitization Fund and it was a clear belief in the real opportunity that exists. Technology is going to be one of the important growth drivers for any economy and India with its talent base and IT expertise—plus the inherent entrepreneurial risk-taking trait—makes me very bullish. As Google, we will invest more in India and from India to the rest of the world as well.

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Will we see your products being built out of India at some point?

We are at an early stage but having some success. I see that as a trend, which will accelerate over time. Therefore, the short answer is yes.

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Google has continuously transformed itself and in many ways, it is a change-maker. How would you like the company’s positioning to be?

We have the vision of developing AI responsibly. AI will create a huge opportunity no different from the internet or mobile. To me, AI offers that scale of opportunity. A few years from now, we want not just to improve our process of building better products, but AI will affect every sector—healthcare and education being some examples. As companies around the world think of using AI to transform themselves, I want Google to be their partner. In my vision of how Google is seen over time, it should not be just about some of the best products built for AI but also one of the largest providers of AI.

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You have had considerable success in areas such as Search and Maps. What is the next step in terms of evolution?

These are important products in the world of technology and you have to innovate to make sure they are the best for users. That will continue to be our No. 1 focus. Using AI to innovate only gives us a [launch] pad for the next decade. Equally important is to bring it all in the context of the Cloud. Along the way, there will be newer products—it could be AR glasses or rethinking Google Assistant.

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The potential of the Cloud is beyond doubt, but there is competition in that space. What is your strategy for that?

We have been doing this now for a few years and some of the leading companies have been doing it for much longer. When I look at the pace of our growth, we are obviously investing to reach that scale. I am very pleased with the momentum we are seeing. The areas of comfort are being early in the lifecycle of where the shift will happen. From a technology standpoint, we will definitely lead in some of the areas such as data analytics or cybersecurity or AI. That gives me confidence in the long term. We are very competitive in large deals and we will build it [Cloud] patiently with an eye on the long term.

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Eight of your new languages have come out of India and that opens up the emergence of digitisation in the Tier II and III cities. How do you see Google’s enhanced role?

Our mission statement is to make information universally accessible. Therefore, we work hard on the Chromebook. We know it opens up computer access to more people and it explains why we work on affordable smartphones. Language is one aspect and as we opened up services like voice and Google Maps, they became important for access to more and more people. India is one of the leading markets for us globally in terms of voice usage. We know that by investing in voice and doing it well, we are merely opening up access for people to use it in newer ways. I would think about it as, ‘What does it take to make our products work really well beyond the main metros?’ That [also] helps in the overall digitisation of the country and this is a virtuous cycle.

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You have been working closely with the Government of India. How has the nature of that engagement evolved?

We try and understand the priority of the government to drive progress for a digital India. It is something that has always resonated with us. Google Pay, for instance, was to help that kind of digital transformation. Another area of priority is education and skilling, particularly around reaching rural areas, women and under-represented groups. In the long term, we want to understand the government’s priorities on agriculture, healthcare and help where we can. Finally, as a company, we are very focussed on sustainability. We would like to be a partner—and I did mention cybersecurity—where we can provide solutions.

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Globally, regulations are a contentious issue you’ve had to deal with. What are your thoughts on that and the regulatory structures you have to contend with?

As technology is evolving, every country wants to protect its citizens or have some set of rules for the sector. We view ourselves as an important player and we care about the open connected internet. India is a large consumer and is going to be a large provider. In terms of regulation, we always take a constructive approach. Something like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in Europe has been important.

Regulatory certainty allows us to invest clearly. An example is UPI in India which convinced us to invest in Google Pay. What we do should work for society and as a part of that, any regulatory conversation will be done constructively and respectfully with the idea of addressing concerns to make progress. That said, the common benefit of a connected internet and all the opportunities it creates is important.

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The Pixel has worked quite well for you. What is the future?

The unique value proposition we will offer is—anytime we make a computing device, you are bringing together an experience at the intersection of hardware, software and services. The Google approach will include AI, which is why we are building Google Tensor. It allows us to do a lot of powerful things like the camera, understand what music is playing around you and we will continue to see extensions of that.

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Much has been said about digital transformation. What does it mean to you?

It’s extraordinary that the world, through the pandemic, was able to work so seamlessly. My dad said something interesting to me—if the pandemic had happened when he was working, it was impossible for him to imagine how it would have played out. In many ways, it shows the potential of what technology has made possible. Having said that, my view is that all this should augment interactions in the physical world and not be a substitute for it. One has seen it in the US, where there has been a clear setback in education and I am sure that’s true around the world. Over time, we have to figure out how all of this works to make connections and also what we all experience as humanity and not necessarily be a substitute or be isolating. To me, there is more progress to be made. So far, what has been achieved is amazing and for countries like India, I see this as an opportunity because it is transforming digitally and you can almost transform to the future state. Mobile and data are good examples of it.

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There is a lot of discussion about a funding winter globally. With a decline in the valuations of tech stocks, things are getting even more complicated. What lies ahead?

While these are painful [times] to work through in the short term, history shows great companies are built even through these moments. Google too was in a similar state after the dotcom crash in 2000. Good companies will also get funding in tough times and it separates the signal from the noise. For an entrepreneur, there is no better time to build a company—it’s easier to hire people and you learn to build it with a more frugal foundation. These are natural cycles and while the short term will be difficult, it will not change the long-term trajectory [of growth].

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There are new AI technologies like ChatGPT disrupting search, which is your core area. How is Google going to counter that?

[Taken from the transcript of an analysts’ call on February 2, 2023] Now that we can integrate more direct LLM [large language models, an algorithm that can recognise, translate, summarise and predict content from data]-type experiences in Search, I think it will help us expand and serve new types of use cases. I see this as a chance to rethink and re-imagine and drive Search to solve more use cases for our users as well. So again, early days, you will see us be bold, put things out, get feedback and iterate and make things better.

 

@TheSouravM, @krishnagopalan.This interview was taken before Google announced the layoffs of 12,000 employees globally