Google will invest $15 billion in the construction of a 1-gigawatt data center and an Artificial Intelligence hub in India, as the Indian government encourages a reduction in dependence on US tech giants. The company announced that the data center will be located in Visakhapatnam, a port city in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The investment will be made over the next five years, until 2030, and represents Google's largest financial commitment to India. Previously, in 2020, the technology company had already pledged $10 billion to the Indian market.
This new AI hub will be Google's largest investment outside the US, according to Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, who said the infrastructure could grow to several gigawatts over time. The announcement comes amidst trade and political tensions. After former US President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports in August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began advocating for the use of "swadeshi" products, a Hindi term meaning "made in India." In response, lawmakers and ministries began promoting local alternatives to Google services, most notably Chennai-based Zoho Corporation, which offers competing solutions to Google Cloud, Gmail, and WhatsApp through Arattai, as well as MapMyIndia, a Google Maps rival. While the immediate impact has been limited, analysts warn that this policy could pose a real political risk to the future of Google and Microsoft in the region.
Google has been present in India for 21 years, employs around 14 people, and already counts New Delhi and Mumbai as official cloud regions. During the launch of the new AI center in the Indian capital, Thomas Kurian explained that this project will be part of a global network of artificial intelligence centers spread across 12 countries. He also added that Visakhapatnam will be transformed into a strategic hub for global connectivity.
The company also announced that it will extend its submarine cable infrastructure to Visakhapatnam. To this end, it has partnered with telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel, which will collaborate on the construction of the data center and cable landing station. Additionally, Google has partnered with AdaniConneX, a company backed by the Adani Group, to prepare all the necessary infrastructure for the data center.
