Google to pump in $15 billion in India to set up AI data centre

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Google on Tuesday announced plans to invest USD 15 billion over five years to build a massive artificial intelligence data centre in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh, its largest single commitment in the country — and a major boost to New Delhi's ambitions to become an AI powerhouse.

The investment, unveiled at an event in the national capital attended by India’s finance and IT ministers, will see Google set up a 1-gigawatt AI data centre campus in the port city of Visakhapatnam, which Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said would be the company's "largest AI hub outside the United States."

The move comes as India races to strengthen its technology infrastructure, from a semiconductor fabrication plant in Gujarat to government-backed AI research initiatives, amid US tariffs on Indian goods that have fuelled calls for local manufacturing and reduced reliance on foreign technology.

While Washington and New Delhi remain locked in a trade standoff, US tech majors continue to deepen their bets on India — a market of nearly a billion internet users. 

Microsoft and Amazon have already invested billions in cloud and data centre capacity, while Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani have announced large-scale infrastructure projects to tap into the AI and cloud boom.

Google's announcement also comes against a backdrop of massive layoffs in India’s IT sector, including by Tata Consultancy Services, as automation and global slowdowns reshape employment. 

Analysts say the surge in AI infrastructure investment could help offset job losses by creating new roles in data engineering, cloud operations, and energy management.

"This long-term vision we have is to accelerate India’s own AI mission," Kurian said at the launch, according to Reuters, calling the initiative a chance to expand both economic and societal opportunities for India and the US.