Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who had in his previous term envisaged Visakhapatnam as the fintech capital of India and a global centre of excellence, has now roped in Google to make the port city an Artificial Intelligence hub to accelerate AI-driven transformation across India.
On Tuesday, the US-based tech giant announced a $15 billion strategic investment over five years to establish India’s first AI Hub at Visakhapatnam, also known as Vizag. The hub will feature a gigawatt-scale data centre and a robust subsea network.
The project aims to “position Vizag as the nation’s flagship AI city and a catalyst for next‑generation digital infrastructure and innovation.”
The Naidu administration is optimistic and believes Google’s entry will finally make Vizag a major IT and tech hub in the country. They hope it will be similar to what Microsoft’s entry did for Hyderabad decades ago, when the TDP chief led united Andhra Pradesh.
Vizag, an industrialised city on India’s east coast, is an advantageous location for data centres. The city can host “Google’s new international subsea cables that will join its global terrestrial and subsea infrastructure”.
The project is among Google’s largest initiatives in Asia. The tech giant is set to deploy its full AI stack to drive AI-led transformation across India.
The hub will integrate hyperscale data centre capacity, high‑performance AI infrastructure, new large‑scale energy sources, and an expanded fibre‑optic backbone in a single location to deliver low‑latency, high‑throughput services nationwide, said an AP government press release.
“The investment is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Andhra Pradesh, anchored by a robust AI skilling pipeline for youth and STEM talent. The hub is designed to attract global capital, strengthen US–India technology cooperation, and anchor the next phase of India’s digital transformation from Vizag,” according to the statement.
The announcement was made at Bharat AI Shakti, an event hosted by Google in New Delhi, where CM Naidu said, “The initiation marks a new era for Andhra Pradesh, and for India too. We are proud to be at the forefront of shaping the country’s AI future by hosting India’s first gigawatt-scale data centre and Google’s first AI hub in India.”
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‘Model for inclusive AI development’
With this partnership, CM Naidu said, the groundwork is laid for a generation of innovators and leaders. They “will carry India’s technological legacy forward”.
The Google AI Hub will support researchers, developers, and enterprises with high‑performance computing and tools. The aim is to build and deploy cutting‑edge AI applications at scale.
The hub will provide low‑latency services to industries and the public sector. It will enable seamless experimentation and production of AI solutions from Vizag to the rest of India.
Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh acknowledged the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Google’s Vizag data centre.
“Our government has been rendering public services through real-time governance, which Google will further help to enhance,” said Lokesh, who was also present at the event. He predicted transformative changes in Andhra Pradesh and said that youngsters should be ready for the next-level AI revolution.
“The hub will be a transformative platform that accelerates AP’s digital economy, creates high‑value jobs, and catalyses start-up growth. The initiative is designed to attract domestic and international investors, strengthen partnerships with global technology leaders, and establish AP as a model for responsible and inclusive AI development.”
‘A global connectivity hub’
Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian stated the data centre at Visakhapatnam, with an investment of USD $15 billion, will be their largest investment in India to date. It is aligned with the Indian government’s ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ vision to accelerate the expansion of AI-driven services.
“Visakhapatnam will emerge as a global connectivity hub, with the laying of the undersea cables,” Kurian said. He added that the data centre will help align global AI infrastructure expertise with India’s own world-class AI mission.
“The initiative creates substantial economic and societal opportunities for both India and USA while pioneering a generational shift in AI capability,” Kurian said.
The Google AI hub in Visakhapatnam will include a purpose-built data centre campus, adding gigawatt-scale computing capacity to help meet demand for digital services across India and around the world. Developed with leading partners, AdaniConneX and Airtel, it will be built with the same cutting-edge infrastructure that powers Google products, such as Search, Workspace, and YouTube.
When operational, the new data centre campus will join Google’s network of existing AI data centres that span 12 countries. It will benefit from technology developed by Google’s R&D centres in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune. This includes design and development of crucial software as well as hardware innovations.
New International Subsea Gateway
Visakhapatnam will emerge as an AI and connectivity hub that not only serves India but the rest of the world.
Google’s investment for the AI hub will be used in the construction of a new international subsea gateway, with multiple international subsea cables in Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern coast. The gateway will connect to Google’s more than two million miles of existing terrestrial and subsea cables.
The gateway will help the country meet surging digital demand and also provide route diversity to complement existing subsea cable landings in the Mumbai and Chennai areas.
In a separate press release, Bharti Airtel said Google’s AI hub in Visakhapatnam is a multi-faceted investment, comprising gigawatt-scale data centre operations. It will be supported by a robust subsea network and clean energy to drive the most demanding AI workloads in India.
“It will be brought to life in close collaboration with ecosystem partners, including Airtel and AdaniConneX. Airtel and Google will jointly establish the purpose-built data centre in Visakhapatnam, as well as a state-of-the-art Cable Landing Station (CLS) to host Google’s new international subsea cables that will join its extensive global terrestrial and subsea infrastructure.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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