Google is building a $15 billion AI data center in India

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is to invest $15bn (£11.29bn) to build an artificial intelligence data center in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

The facility, to be set up in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, will be part of Google’s global network of AI centers spread across 12 countries.

“It is the largest AI center we will invest in anywhere in the world, outside of the United States,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said at an event in the capital, Delhi, on Tuesday, adding that the investment will be spread over the next five years.

This announcement comes at a time when US President Donald Trump asks American companies to give priority to domestic investment.

India has emerged as a major destination for AI data centers. The country’s low data costs and fast-growing internet user base have made it a hub for cloud and artificial intelligence expansion for tech giants.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, said the facility “will make our industry-leading technology available to businesses and users in India, which will accelerate AI innovation and drive growth across the country.”

The Andhra Pradesh government said a formal agreement to finalize the project will be signed on Tuesday.

“This is a huge leap for the digital future, innovation and global standing of our state,” state Technology Minister Nara Lokesh said.

The project will combine cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, renewable energy systems and an expanded fiber optic network.

The project is part of the Andhra Pradesh government’s plan to develop 6 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2029, according to Bloomberg News.

Data centers are physical facilities that contain computing and networking equipment that organizations use to collect, process, store, and distribute data.

They contain servers, storage systems, and networking equipment such as routers and firewalls, along with the power and cooling systems needed to run them.

In Andhra Pradesh, the government has offered subsidized land and electricity to attract global investors.

India’s data center industry has grown rapidly over the past five years, crossing the 1 GW capacity mark in 2024 and nearly tripling its level in 2019, according to global professional services firm JLL’s Indian Data Center Market Dynamics 2024. a report.

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