Google to invest $550 million in China’s e-commerce giant JD.com

June 19, 2018: Google has announced that it will invest $550 million in cash in China’s leading e-commerce giant JD.com as part of a strategic partnership.

Google and JD plan to collaborate on a range of strategic initiatives, including joint development of retail solutions in a range of regions around the world, including Southeast Asia, the US and Europe.

By applying JD’s supply chain and logistics expertise and the major search engine’s technology strengths, the two companies aim to explore the creation of next generation retail infrastructure solutions, with the goal of offering helpful, personalised and frictionless shopping experiences.
As part of this partnership, JD also plans to make a selection of high-quality products available for sale through Google Shopping in multiple regions.

“This partnership with Google opens up a broad range of possibilities to offer a superior retail experience to consumers throughout the world,” said Jianwen Liao, JD.com’s chief strategy officer. “This marks an important step in the process of modernising global retail. As we celebrate our June 18 anniversary sale, this partnership opens a new chapter in our history.”

“We are excited to partner with JD.com and explore new solutions for retail ecosystems around the world to enable helpful, personalised and frictionless shopping experiences that give consumers the power to shop wherever and however they want,” said Philipp Schindler, chief business officer, Google.