Alphabet Inc.'s Google will invest $15 billion to set up a massive data centre and artificial intelligence hub in Andhra Pradesh, officials from the southern Indian state said, marking its biggest such investment in the South Asian nation.
"It is the largest AI hub we are investing in anywhere outside the US," said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, in a ceremony in New Delhi, announcing the AI hub in Visakhapatnam.
Kurian said that the next five years of capital investment would total $15 billion.
Google will build a 1-gigawatt data centre campus in the port city of Visakhapatnam, combining AI infrastructure, large-scale energy sources, and an expanded fibre-optic network, according to a statement from the state government.
A formal agreement is expected to be signed on Tuesday.
The move comes amid intensifying competition among big tech companies, which are spending heavily on building new data centre infrastructure to meet booming demand for AI services.
"In an era where data is the new oil, such initiatives will serve as a strategic advantage," state IT minister Nara Lokesh said.
Tech investments in India grow
The move places Google among a growing list of US tech giants expanding in India.
Amazon has pledged $12.7 billion to strengthen its cloud infrastructure by 2030, while ChatGPT-maker OpenAI plans a one-gigawatt data centre under its Stargate initiative.
Industry estimates suggest India’s data centre investments will surpass $100 billion by 2027.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hailed technology as a pillar of India’s economic strategy, aiming to lift millions out of poverty through digital growth.
Yet, limited water resources and inconsistent power supplies continue to challenge the country’s infrastructure ambitions.
