Analysis

YouTube India is now a billion-dollar business. What’s its next play?

Soumya Gupta

July 20, 2022 | 11 Min Read

The video giant has raced from $600 million in annual revenues in 2019 to $1 billion-plus now, with ads being the primary driver. Overall, though, this has been a long journey. How did it get here and what is it trying to do with new ad formats, Shorts and commerce?

Fourteen years after its India launch, YouTube’s annual revenues from the country have topped $1 billion (Rs 7,900 crore) for the first time, said two people aware of the development. This happened four to six months ago, they added, requesting anonymity as the video giant’s parent, Alphabet Inc, avoids disclosing numbers outside of formal announcements.

Selling digital advertisements mainly helped YouTube hit the milestone; user subscriptions are a small slice. The time it needed to reach this financial stage does not detract from its influence or appeal in the country. The platform clung to its prime spot on Indian homescreens during TikTok’s explosive but truncated era. Still, the toil shows how the market can be a land of contradictions.

Corporate

Access unlimited content at a special discounted rate. Trusted by top VC’s and leading organizations, we provide bulk subscriptions for groups of 30+. Contact us for more details

Campus

Top educational institutions have collaborated with us for campus-wide subscriptions. For bulk campus-wide access, please get in touch.

Join our community of 100,000+ top executives, VCs, entrepreneurs, and brightest student minds

Trusted by the best

Karthik Reddy

Blume Ventures

The CapTable brings a refreshing set of insights for us at the Blume team, highlighting stories that bring together the underlying business and founders with that of investors' journeys with these startups. It's an important perspective that very few bring to startup ecosystem enthusiasts.

Latest Articles

The IPO domino effect big money is quietly betting on

Private markets are frozen, public markets are ruthless, and investors have run out of patience — or exits. With no breakout tech, no AI glory, and flatlining valuations, India’s startups are lining up for IPOs, hoping Dalal Street will do what VCs won’t.

Nikhil Patwardhan

When the music pauses: What’s the way forward for Agritech startup Gramophone

Agritech startup Gramophone battles shutdown rumours and a deep fall in valuation, but CEO Tauseef Khan insists the company has in recent months turned profitable and is growing

Parvathi Benu

We built a smarter world, can we stay human?

AI is quietly taking over our daily routines and work tasks, promising to free us for more meaningful pursuits. But as machines handle everything seamlessly, are we risking something deeper—the messy, unpredictable essence of what makes us truly human?

Arjun Gandhi

Startups push into India’s defence frontlines, but roadblocks ahead

With procurement reforms and funding on their side, India’s defence startups are making a mark. They, however, face structural barriers in the system they serve.

Anuj Suvarna

Building a quick home-services platform is like running Urban Company + Zepto + Uber. The challenges multiply, not add up

Snabbit, Pronto and Urban Company’s Insta Help are racing to send househelp in minutes. But speed alone won’t cut it, dense urban localities, repeat users, and consistent quality are just as important for these services to scale

Team Captable

Convinced that The Captable stories and insights
will give you the edge?

Convinced that The Captable stories
and insights will give you the edge?

Subscribe Now

Stories

Explore