Google Capital targets India for its first expansion outside the U.S.

India’s startup scene is gaining big momentum, and it’s caught the attention of Google.

As a result, Google Capital, the investment division of the U.S. search giant, has decided to hire a partner to focus on India, according to the Wall Street Journal. While Google Ventures, which invests in early stage companies, set up an office in London recently to target Europe, this will be the first international outpost for Google Capital, which focuses on later-stage companies.

Depending on whose numbers you use, India either has the second largest number of people online, or is a close third behind the U.S. But no matter, because India has much more room to grow than the U.S. and inevitably will be the world’s second largest Internet market behind China for decades to come.

“It makes a lot of sense to focus on India right now,” Google Capital partner David Lawee told The Wall Street Journal.

Lawee said the company is in the process of hiring the partner, but is not sure when he or she will be on board, or which city in India they will be based in.

Source: Wall Street Journal