Amazon Web Services (AWS) has appointed Sriram Santhanam as the Head of Startup Business for India, in a move that signals a strategic acceleration of its commitment to the country’s fast-growing startup ecosystem. Tasked with leading AWS’s engagement across over 20,000 startups, Santhanam will focus on enabling innovation through cloud adoption, SaaS scaling, and AI implementation.
Bringing over 25 years of cross-sector leadership, Santhanam’s career spans some of the most influential names in technology and telecom, including AWS, Kore.ai, Microsoft, Cleartax, Tata Communications, Bharti Airtel Foundation, and Tata Teleservices. His experience ranges from enterprise GTM strategy and B2B sales to platform innovation and AI adoption.
Prior to this elevation, he led the ISV (Independent Software Vendor) business at AWS in South India, where he worked with high-growth software providers to expand cloud-driven transformation. Earlier, at Kore.ai, Santhanam served as Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, collaborating with global enterprises to scale AI-powered conversational platforms.
In his new role, Santhanam will lead a 70+ member cross-functional team, tasked with guiding founders, engineers, CXOs, and ecosystem enablers—including venture capitalists and government stakeholders—on how to scale with agility using the AWS cloud. This appointment arrives at a time when India is home to over 157,000 DPIIT-recognized startups and more than 123 unicorns, signaling a critical growth phase that demands deeper cloud-native strategies and scalable technology adoption.
A Leader for a Defining Decade in Indian Tech
Sriram Santhanam’s appointment to this key role reflects a well-timed alignment of leadership experience and ecosystem opportunity. His proven record in enabling enterprise tech adoption, fostering partner networks, and scaling innovation platforms makes him uniquely positioned to influence how India’s next-generation startups evolve.
Unlike traditional roles confined to infrastructure or enterprise sales, this position blends cloud transformation with founder engagement, AI enablement, and public-private collaboration—a rare intersection that demands versatility. Santhanam’s background, spanning global corporations and agile startups alike, equips him to work across this broad spectrum.
This move also reinforces AWS‘s broader vision for India. Having committed over $12.7 billion in cloud infrastructure investments through 2030, the company is not just building data centers—but enabling deep, long-term innovation across AI, SaaS, fintech, healthtech, and more. Leaders like Santhanam will be instrumental in converting that infrastructure into impact.
From our perspective, this is more than a personnel change—it’s a strategic reinforcement. In a market where the difference between a unicorn and a near-miss often lies in scalable architecture and market-fit technology, having a seasoned leader at the helm of AWS’s startup vertical could prove a growth catalyst for thousands of founders building from India for the world.
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