Google will invest $15 billion over the next five years to build a major artificial intelligence (AI) data centre in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, marking the company’s largest-ever investment in India. The data centre, to be located in Visakhapatnam, will have an initial capacity of 1 gigawatt, serving as Google’s largest AI hub outside the United States.
The announcement came during an event in New Delhi attended by India’s finance and technology ministers. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said the project aims to support India’s growing AI ambitions: “This long-term vision we have is to accelerate India’s own AI mission.”
The investment underscores Google’s commitment to expanding its global data infrastructure, with the company planning to spend around $85 billion this year worldwide to boost cloud and AI capabilities.
However, the timing of the announcement coincides with rising diplomatic tension between Washington and New Delhi, following U.S. tariffs on Indian goods and calls within India to boycott foreign products. Despite this, Google said the initiative “creates substantial economic and societal opportunities for both India and the United States.”
Google will partner with Adani Group and Airtel to build the new facility and its accompanying international subsea gateway, which is expected to generate over 188,000 jobs, according to earlier state estimates.
The project places Google alongside Microsoft and Amazon, who have also invested heavily in India’s rapidly expanding data centre market — home to nearly a billion internet users and a booming digital economy.