Google announced on Tuesday that it will invest $15 billion in India over the next five years, unveiling plans for a massive data centre and artificial intelligence (AI) hub in the country.
“It is the largest AI hub that we are investing in anywhere outside of the US,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said during the announcement in New Delhi.
With over 900 million internet users expected in India by the end of 2025, demand for AI tools and solutions is rising rapidly among businesses and individuals.
Kurian confirmed the $15 billion investment and revealed plans for a “gigawatt-scale AI hub in Visakhapatnam,” a port city in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh. He added that the centre is expected to expand to multiple gigawatts, serving as “a digital backbone connecting different parts of India together.”
Data centres are growing globally due to the need to store huge amounts of digital data and run energy-intensive AI applications.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on X that he had discussed the “landmark development” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This hub combines gigawatt-scale compute capacity, a new international subsea gateway, and large-scale energy infrastructure,” Pichai wrote. “Through it we will bring our industry-leading technology to enterprises and users in India, accelerating AI innovation and driving growth across the country.”
‘Data is the New Oil’
India’s Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed gratitude to Google for the investment.
“This digital infrastructure will go a long way in meeting the goals of our India AI vision,” he said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu called the announcement “a very happy day.” The state’s Technology Minister Nara Lokesh noted on X that the deal came after “a year of intense discussions and relentless effort.”
Lokesh added, “Data is the new oil and data centres are the new refineries. This is about India playing an important role on the global landscape.”
American AI companies are increasingly expanding into India, the world’s fifth-largest economy.
This month, US startup Anthropic said it plans to open an office in India next year. Its CEO, Dario Amodei, met with Prime Minister Modi, who said on X that “India’s vibrant tech ecosystem and talented youth are driving AI innovation,” and emphasized harnessing AI for growth.
OpenAI has also announced plans to open an India office later this year. CEO Sam Altman highlighted that ChatGPT usage in India has quadrupled over the past year.
