India is a red-hot market for creator content, and YouTube is making sure to maintain its connections to local influencers. At the World Audio Visual &Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in Mumbai, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan shared that his company has already paid out millions to Indian videomakers — and it’s planning to invest millions more in the local creator economy.
Mohan revealed that more than 100 million Indian YouTube channels have uploaded at least one video in the past year. 15,000 of those channels have at least one million subscribers. In total, YouTube’s payouts to Indian creators, artists, and media companies have totaled ₹21,000 crore (~$2.5 billion) over the past three years. “YouTube’s ability to connect a creator anywhere with audiences everywhere has made it a powerful engine of cultural export, and few nations have leveraged this as effectively as India,” Mohan said to the audience at WAVES.
₹21,000 crore is just the beginning. Mohan used his WAVES speech to announce a ₹850 crore (~$100 million) investment in Indian creators. YouTube will parcel out that investment across the next two years, giving it a steady presence in South Asia.
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YouTube is not the only company seeking a piece of India’s booming creator economy. Online video has become a national obsession in the world’s most populous country, where everyone from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rural villagers operate active channels. Ahead of WAVES, the Indian government announced a $1 billion injection to jumpstart the production of local creator content.
Amidst that gold rush, YouTube has positioned itself as a tool Indian creators can use to reach viewers around the world. Expanded language dubbing tools and enhanced moderation are two examples of steps YouTube has taken to incubate international talent. The eye-popping viewership numbers achieved by Indian channels show that South Asian creators are taking advantage of the growth opportunities YouTube offers. At WAVES, Mohan said that Indian creators earned 45 billion hours of watch time in 2024 from viewers based in other countries.
YouTube’s presence in India is not merely an opportunistic investment. The Google-affiliated hub has a clear path to dominance among Indian consumers because TikTok is not present to compete with it. For as long as TikTok remains banned in India, YouTube can continue to roll up the numbers on YouTube Shorts.
Mohan’s address came on the opening day of the four-day WAVES event. For updates from the summit, tune into the WAVES Instagram account.
