Google is investing $15 billion to build data centers for a new AI hub in India, the company’s largest investment outside of the United States.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement on X that he is “delighted by the launch of the Google AI Hub in the dynamic city of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.”
“This multi-faceted investment that includes gigawatt-scale data center infrastructure, aligns with our vision to build a Viksit Bharat. It will be a powerful force in democratizing technology,” he wrote on X. “It will also ensure AI for All, delivering cutting-edge tools to our citizens, boosting our digital economy and securing India’s place as a global technology leader!”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the “landmark development” combines “gigawatt-scale compute capacity, a new international subsea gateway, and large-scale energy infrastructure.”
“Through it we will bring our industry-leading technology to enterprises and users in India, accelerating AI innovation and driving growth across the country,” he continued.
Google’s AI investment involves the construction of a “new international subsea gateway, including multiple international subsea cables to land in Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern coast — connecting to Google’s more than two million miles of existing terrestrial and subsea cables,” a blog post on the matter says. Th development establishes the city as an “AI and connectivity hub that not only serves India but the rest of the world.”
Similarly, Google announced that it has entered into two utility agreements to reduce the energy usage of its AI data centers when there is a greater demand for electricity. The agreements, made with Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), serve as the “first time” Google is “delivering data center demand response by targeting machine learning (ML) workloads.”
