New Delhi, Jun 13 (IANS): India is an excellent hub for innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), startups and also a key global market for Google Cloud, the company's top executive has said.

According to Matt Renner, President and Global Sales Leader of Google Cloud, due to India's tremendous upside and potential, the country has been picked as one of the few markets globally to receive startup investments during this fiscal year.

He also remarked that Google Cloud is witnessing a good increase in various AI startups such as healthcare, financial services, and others.

"India is an incredible place for innovation in AI. We are seeing customers push the envelope in AI innovation. We are well positioned with our AI expertise, tools and history, to help partner with them as we move forward," Renner said.

Additionally, the executive noted that the country is growing at a very quick pace, saying that he "would put it on par or above most other regions globally because they understand technology, AI."

Google is a major player in the cloud market, following Amazon and Microsoft. The company's cloud division has been consistently growing in revenue and profit.

In early 2023, Google Cloud became profitable, and in the first quarter of 2024, its operating income rose to $900 million, marking a more than fourfold increase from the previous year.