Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced plans to invest $15 billion (£11.29 billion) to build a major AI data hub in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
The new facility, to be established in the port city of Visakhapatnam, will become part of Google’s global network of artificial intelligence centres spanning 12 countries.
“It’s the largest AI hub that we are going to be investing in anywhere in the world, outside of the United States,” said Thomas Kurien, CEO of Google Cloud, during an event in New Delhi on Tuesday. He added that the investment will be rolled out over the next five years.
The announcement comes amid growing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for American companies to prioritise domestic investments.
India has rapidly emerged as a global destination for AI and cloud infrastructure, thanks to its low data costs and a fast-growing internet user base. These advantages have turned the country into a strategic hub for technology giants expanding their data operations.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the new facility “will bring our industry-leading technology to enterprises and users in India, accelerating AI innovation and driving growth across the country.”
A formal agreement to finalise the project will be signed later on Tuesday, according to the Andhra Pradesh government.
“This is a massive leap for our state’s digital future, innovation, and global standing,” said Nara Lokesh, the state’s technology minister.
The development will integrate advanced cloud and AI systems with renewable energy solutions and an expanded fibre-optic network.
According to Bloomberg News, the initiative forms part of Andhra Pradesh’s plan to develop 6 GW of data-centre capacity by 2029.
Data centres are large facilities housing the computing and networking equipment used by organisations to collect, process, store, and distribute data. They typically contain servers, storage systems, routers, and firewalls, supported by power and cooling infrastructure.
To attract global investors, the Andhra Pradesh government has been offering subsidised land and electricity.
India’s data-centre sector has expanded rapidly over the past five years, surpassing the 1 GW capacity mark in 2024, nearly three times its 2019 level, according to global professional services firm JLL’s India Data Centre Market Dynamics 2024 report.
