IPO-bound Meesho faces ₹127 crore arbitration with AWS over cloud bills

Meesho, an e-commerce unicorn preparing for its IPO, is currently involved in an arbitration dispute with Amazon Web Services (AWS) India over alleged unpaid cloud service bills amounting to ₹127.45 crore ($14.44 million). AWS initiated proceedings citing unpaid dues linked to a Private Pricing Addendum signed in February 2022, including spend commitment shortfall payments, pending service fees, interest, and arbitration costs. Meesho has contested these claims, arguing deficiencies in AWS's services, disputing the enforceability of minimum commitment clauses, and filing a counterclaim of ₹86.49 crore for business disruptions, inadequate support, and migration costs. The matter remains pending before a three-member arbitral tribunal in New Delhi. This dispute underscores the critical reliance Meesho places on cloud infrastructure for its operations and raises concerns about operational risks and contract terms in cloud service agreements. Meesho plans to invest ₹1,390 crore from its IPO proceeds to enhance its cloud infrastructure, indicating efforts to strengthen and diversify its technology backbone amid ongoing legal and tax challenges.