Google has announced its first AI hub in India, located in Visakhapatnam city of Andhra Pradesh state.
The hub will combine a gigawatt-scale data centre, high-capacity energy sources, and an expanded fibre-optic network.
The aim is to support AI applications and digital services.
The hub will deliver low-latency, high-performance AI services to businesses to build and scale AI-powered solutions and enhance research and development.
Google will be investing approximately SGD 19.51 billion (US$15 billion) over five years (2026-2030) and is the company's largest investment in India to date.
Partners in the project include AdaniConneX and Airtel.
Google Cloud’s CEO, Thomas Kurian, said the Google AI hub in Visakhapatnam will deliver AI infrastructure at scale and enable businesses to innovate faster and create meaningful opportunities for inclusive growth.
This partnership reflects shared commitment to the Indian and U.S. governments to harness AI responsibly and drive transformative impact for society, he added.
When operational, the new data centre campus will join Google’s network of existing AI data centres across 12 countries.
It will benefit from technology developed by Google’s R&D centres in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, including the design and development of crucial software and hardware innovations.
Creating a new international subsea gateway
Google's AI hub investment includes the construction of a new international subsea gateway, including multiple international subsea cables to land in Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern coast.
This will connect to Google’s over two million miles of existing terrestrial and subsea cables.
This will establish Visakhapatnam as an AI and connectivity hub to serve India and the world.
The gateway will help the country meet surging digital demands and provide route diversity to complement existing subsea cable landings in the Mumbai and Chennai areas.
According to Google, the company will work with local partners to deliver new transmission lines, clean energy generation, and energy storage systems in Andhra Pradesh.
This will expand the diverse portfolio of clean energy technologies that contribute to India’s electricity grid.
Additionally, according to an analysis conducted by Access Partnership and commissioned by Google, the AI hub is expected to generate at least US$15 billion from 2026 to 2030 in American gross domestic product (GDP).
This is because of new economic activity from increased cloud and AI adoption, and the American talent and resources involved in developing and operating the AI hub.