Google To Invest $15 Bln In India For Massive AI And Data Center Hub

(RTTNews) - Google said it would spend $15 billion to build a huge data and artificial intelligence center in India. This is the most money the company has ever promised to the country.

The new facility will be built in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and when it is finished in 2030, it will be able to produce 1 gigawatt of power.

The Indian government wants people to be more self-reliant when it comes to technology and is pushing people to use platforms made in India instead of those made by U.S. tech companies.

The investment will happen over the course of five years, and it comes after Google's $10 billion India Digitization Fund was announced in 2020. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian stated at the New Delhi launch event that the AI hub will be the company's biggest outside of the US and a part of a network that spans 12 nations.

"We see this hub serving not only India but also Asia and other parts of the world from India," Kurian stated. Through the construction of subsea cable infrastructure in collaboration with Bharti Airtel and AdaniConneX, the company also intends to establish Visakhapatnam as a significant hub for digital connectivity.

In addition to providing local access to Google's cloud and TPU technology, the new facility will power Google's AI models, including Gemini. Additionally, it will support Google Ads, YouTube, Gmail, and Search.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, India's IT minister, praised the action and said it was a significant step toward the country's national AI goal. In order to improve global data transfer routes and connectivity in the area, he urged Google to investigate additional infrastructure in the Andaman Islands.

Even as the Indian government encourages local alternatives like Zoho, MapMyIndia, and Arattai to lessen dependency on U.S.-based platforms, the announcement emphasizes Google's growing dedication to India's digital ecosystem.