Google to invest $15 billion in AI hub at Visakhapatnam, its largest India bet yet

(from left to right) Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu, AP IT minister N Lokesh at the Google event in New Delhi on October 14

Google on October 14 announced a $15 billion investment to set up a large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) hub in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, its biggest investment outside the US so far.

The facility will integrate AI infrastructure, data centers, renewable energy capacity, and a new subsea gateway, marking the first gigawatt-scale data center campus in the country, Google said in a release.

Data centers are becoming increasingly critical as AI models, cloud services and digital platforms demand massive computing power and low-latency connectivity. Companies are investing heavily to localise infrastructure, improve resilience and meet real-time processing needs.

The five-year project (2026–2030) is expected to create over 1 lakh jobs, civil aviation minister N Ram Mohan Naidu told media persons on the sidelines of an event held in New Delhi to announce the unveiling of the AI hub.

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said, "We will scale the data centre to multiple GW (giga watt). It is a part of network of data centres that we are building, and we will be making Vishakhapatnam a global connectivity hub. We are also bringing our subsea cable infrastructure to Vishakhapatnam and we will be connecting it to other cables."

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, state IT Minister Nara Lokesh, and Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, were among the key attendees at the event.

“This digital infrastructure will go a long way in meeting the goals of our India AI Mission,” Vaishnaw said during a fireside chat at the event.

He requested Google to leverage Andaman Island as a hub for undersea cables for internet connectivity. "The government will provide full support," Vaishnaw said.

Vaishnaw also requested Google to provide a (cable) link from Vishakhapatnam to Myanmar "so that we can service north eastern states such as Mizoram".

AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu called the investment “a new chapter in India’s digital transformation journey,” adding that the AI hub and subsea cable gateway would make Visakhapatnam “a global AI and connectivity hub.”

According to an analysis by Access Partnership, commissioned by Google, the AI hub is expected to generate around $15 billion in US GDP between 2026 and 2030 through new economic activity tied to AI and cloud services.

The facility will be developed in partnership with AdaniConneX and Airtel, and will host high-performance computing infrastructure used in products like Search, YouTube, and Workspace. It will also serve as a testbed for AI research and innovation by startups, enterprises, and research organizations across India.

As part of the initiative, Google will construct new international subsea cables landing in Visakhapatnam, improving India’s internet resilience and complementing existing gateways in Mumbai and Chennai.

To meet the energy demands of the data center, the company plans to collaborate with local partners to expand clean energy generation, transmission, and storage capacity in Andhra Pradesh, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable growth.