Google announced on Tuesday, October 14th, that it will invest $15 billion over the next five years to establish a large artificial intelligence hub in southern India. This investment marks Google’s largest investment in India.
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, stated during an event in New Delhi, “This is our largest AI hub investment outside the United States.”
Kurian added, “It is part of a global network of AI centers spanning 12 different countries.”
The AI center will be located in the port city of Visakhapatnam in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The investment will be executed by Google’s Indian subsidiary, Raiden Infotech, with plans to develop three campuses in the city with an initial capacity of 1 gigawatt, but aiming to expand to “multiple gigawatts.”
Nara Lokesh, Minister of Human Resource Development for Andhra Pradesh, mentioned that the deal was the result of “a year of intense discussions and relentless efforts.” He emphasized that this is “just the beginning.”
State government officials estimate that the center is expected to create 188,000 job opportunities, significantly impacting the local economy and the development of high-tech industries.
Currently, major tech giants are racing to meet the explosive demand for AI services. In July of this year, Google raised its expected capital expenditures for 2025 to $85 billion to address the “strong and growing demand for cloud products and services.”
India, with nearly 1 billion internet users, is a crucial market attracting significant investments in cloud and AI infrastructure. Companies like Microsoft, Amazon, have already invested billions in establishing AI centers in India, while Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani have also announced investments to expand data center capacities.
Google views India as a key growth market – YouTube has the largest user base there, and Android phones hold a significant market share. However, the company is facing several antitrust challenges in India and is embroiled in a lawsuit related to AI-generated content on YouTube.