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Google plans to spend $15 billion over five years to establish an AI data center in Andhra Pradesh, India, marking its largest investment in the country to date. This move comes as part of a broader initiative, with Google allocating approximately $85 billion this year to expand data center infrastructure worldwide, aiming to meet the surging demand for AI services.
“Our new AI hub will be the biggest we’ve built outside the U.S.,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, during a recent event in New Delhi. He emphasized that the investment will be distributed over the next five years and that this facility is part of a global network of AI centers spanning 12 countries.
The initial phase of the data center in Visakhapatnam will have a capacity of 1 gigawatt but is planned to eventually scale to several gigawatts, Kurian added. Earlier estimates by local officials placed the investment at $10 billion, with the project expected to create around 188,000 jobs.
Major tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon have already committed billions to developing data centers in India, a key growth market where nearly a billion people access the internet. Additionally, Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani have announced investments geared toward enhancing the nation’s data infrastructure.
AI’s massive computational requirements are driving demand for advanced data centers capable of linking thousands of chips in powerful clusters. Google recognizes India as a vital growth area, with its YouTube service boasting the highest number of users and Android powering the majority of smartphones.
Despite its growth trajectory, Google faces regulatory hurdles in India, including antitrust investigations and a lawsuit from Bollywood figures challenging its AI policies on YouTube.
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