Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Highlights Google AI Hub as a Game-Changer for India’s Digital Economy, Driving AI-First Infrastructure, Clean Energy, and High-Value Job Creation
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Highlights Google AI Hub as a Game-Changer for India’s Digital Economy, Driving AI-First Infrastructure, Clean Energy, and High-Value Job Creation
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that the Google AI Hub in Visakhapatnam marks a transformative step for India’s digital economy. He was addressing Bharat AI Shakti, an event hosted by Google ahead of its participation in the upcoming India AI Summit. The Minister said “The Google AI hub ushers in a new era for India’s digital economy. This infrastructure breaks new ground in the realm of AI-first data center architecture, anchored by investments in new subsea cable networks and powered by clean energy. It will not only fuel a new era of AI-driven services but also create high-value jobs and economic opportunities across the country. We are proud to see this partnership bring world-class technology to India.,” underscoring the Hub’s role in advancing the goals of the India AI Mission. “This digital infrastructure will go a long way in meeting the goals of our India AI Mission,” the Minister said.
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted AI services as a key emerging sector in India’s digital economy, urging Google to leverage the facility for talent and job creation. He welcomed Google’s TPUs (Tensor Processing Unit) to compete with Nvidia’s GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit) as part of the common compute infrastructure under the India AI Mission. The Minister also highlighted that the AI Hub would significantly advance the goals of the India AI Mission, emphasizing the need for large-scale reskilling and upskilling of IT professionals amid rapid AI-driven changes. He urged Google to support the industry in this effort.
The Minister emphasized the importance of undersea subsea cable connectivity, stating, “The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strategically located. Singapore is already overburdened. Why can’t we make Andaman the next major hub for global internet data transfer? From the Government of India’s perspective, we will provide full support for this initiative. The Andaman Islands can help Google and other internet-based organizations connect to Southeast Asia, Australia, and other regions that are seeking new data capacity.”
Minister Proposes Vizag–Sittwe Link to Boost Digital Connectivity in North-Eastern State
The Union Minister also proposed establishing a Vizag-Sittwe (Myanmar) link to strengthen digital connectivity in the North-Eastern states, highlighting the need to enhance the existing RailTel network. He noted that extending the cable via Myanmar to Mizoram would be a major step forward, as the railway line up to Sairang is already complete and work is underway to extend it to the Myanmar border as directed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister.
The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu, said on this occasion, “This significant investment in Andhra Pradesh marks a new chapter in India’s digital transformation journey. We are proud to host India’s first truly gigawatt-scale data center and Google’s first AI Hub in India, which is a testament to our shared commitment to innovation, AI adoption, and long-term support for businesses and startups in the state.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud, highlighted that “The Google AI Hub in Visakhapatnam represents a landmark investment in India’s digital future. By delivering industry-leading AI infrastructure at scale, we are enabling businesses to innovate faster and creating meaningful opportunities for inclusive growth. This partnership reflects our shared commitment with the Indian and U.S. governments to harness AI responsibly and drive transformative impact for society.”
Google has announced the establishment of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub in Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh, enabling the company to deploy its full AI stack with the aim of accelerating AI-driven transformation across India. The new AI Hub will bring together advanced AI infrastructure, data center capacity, large-scale renewable energy sources, and an expanded fiber-optic network, all in one place.
This investment of approximately USD 15 billion over five years (2026–2030) marks Google’s largest investment in India to date and aligns with the Government of India’s Viksit Bharat Vision, which seeks to accelerate the expansion of AI-driven services.
The Google AI Hub in Visakhapatnam will include a purpose-built data center campus, adding gigawatt-scale compute capacity to help meet demand for digital services across India and around the world. Developed with partners including AdaniConnex and Airtel, it will be built with the same cutting-edge infrastructure that powers Google products like Search, Workspace, and YouTube.
The AI Hub will also deliver the high-performance and low-latency services that businesses and organizations need to build and scale their own AI-powered solutions, accelerate research and development, and ultimately help India secure its place as a global leader in the AI-driven future. This will benefit large enterprises like MakeMyTrip, Meesho, and TCS, as well as Indian AI startups like CoRover, Glance, Invideo AI, Sarvam, and many more.
When operational, the new data center campus will join Google’s network of existing AI data centers that spans 12 countries. It will benefit from technology developed by Google’s R&D centers in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune, including the design and development of crucial software and hardware innovations.
Google’s AI Hub investment includes 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. This will establish Visakhapatnam as an AI and connectivity hub that not only serves India but the rest of the world.
The gateway will help the country meet surging digital demands and provide route diversity to complement existing subsea cable landings in the Mumbai and Chennai areas. New high-capacity, low-latency pathways will deliver faster experiences to Google users and customers; increase the resilience and capacity of India’s digital backbone; and drive digital inclusivity and transformation across India, bringing the benefits of AI to more people and businesses nationwide.
Google operates among the most energy-efficient data centers and is committed to responsibly growing its infrastructure. Building on Google’s existing clean energy initiatives in India, the company will work with local partners to deliver new transmission lines, clean energy generation, and energy storage systems in Andhra Pradesh. This will expand the diverse portfolio of clean energy technologies that contribute to India’s electricity grid.
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Android, Google Play, Chrome, YouTube, Google Workspace, and Google Cloud, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.