Google announces $10 billion investment in India’s AI and data centre

Alphabet-owned Google will invest $10 billion to build a large-scale data centre and artificial intelligence hub in Andhra Pradesh, officials from the state government said. The facility will be located in Visakhapatnam and represents Google’s biggest single infrastructure investment in India.

According to a statement released by the Andhra Pradesh government, the project will involve the construction of a 1-gigawatt data centre campus. The development will combine AI infrastructure, energy sources on a large scale, and an expanded fibre-optic network.

The state government said a formal agreement with Google is expected to be signed on Tuesday.

Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh’s IT minister, said in the statement that the investment would provide a strategic advantage for India. “In an era where data is the new oil, such initiatives will serve as a strategic advantage,” he said.

The announcement comes at a time when global technology companies are increasing their spending on data infrastructure to meet rising demand for artificial intelligence services. The Wall Street Journal reported that major firms are accelerating capacity expansion worldwide to support cloud computing and generative AI workloads.

Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Meta have also announced new investment in data centres in recent months.

Google’s presence in India

Google already operates multiple engineering centres and offices in India. In 2020, the company pledged $10 billion through its “Google for India Digitisation Fund” to accelerate technology adoption in the country, including support for small businesses and digital infrastructure.

The Andhra Pradesh government said the new Visakhapatnam campus would connect to Google’s undersea cable systems, enhancing network capacity within India and across Asia-Pacific. The project is expected to generate direct and indirect employment in the region, though the company has not provided specific job numbers.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has encouraged international technology firms to expand investment in cloud computing, AI and semiconductor manufacturing as part of the government’s “Digital India” initiative.

Reuters reported that India’s data centre market is projected to grow rapidly over the next decade, driven by demand from sectors such as financial services, e-commerce and government projects.

Google has not issued a separate comment beyond the state government’s announcement.

The Andhra Pradesh government said further details, including construction timelines and operational targets, will be shared after the agreement is signed.