NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
In a landmark move that could redefine India’s digital infrastructure, tech giant Google is preparing to invest $6 billion to build a 1‑gigawatt hyperscale data centre in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The ambitious project — touted as the largest of its kind in Asia — signals Google’s first major data‑centre venture in India.
According to reports from Reuters and Indian media outlets, the facility will serve as the launchpad for Google’s broader expansion in the region, coming at a time when global tech firms are racing to meet the surging demand for AI‑driven and cloud‑based services.
The proposed campus will be powered by $2 billion worth of renewable energy infrastructure, aligning with Google’s global pledge to achieve net‑zero operations. Additionally, three new subsea cable landing stations are planned in Visakhapatnam, which could surpass Mumbai’s current dominance in international data connectivity and turn the port city into a major digital gateway for South and Southeast Asia.
The Andhra Pradesh government has been aggressively courting large‑scale technology investments through its IT and Global Capability Centre (GCC) Policy 2024‑29. State IT Minister Nara Lokesh recently said Andhra has already secured agreements totaling 1.6 gigawatts of data‑centre capacity and aims to scale this to 6 GW within five years.
The Google project joins other big-ticket announcements for Visakhapatnam, including Sify Technologies’ $1.9 billion, 550‑MW data centre and upcoming campuses by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Cognizant.
While neither Google nor India’s federal government has formally confirmed the project, state officials indicated that a public announcement is expected in October 2025. The buildout is part of Alphabet’s broader $75 billion global data‑centre expansion plan for 2025, which spans markets in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
For India, the project promises thousands of construction and operations jobs, a boost to renewable energy development, and a strategic foothold in the AI and cloud race. For Andhra Pradesh — which has been working to regain its economic footing since losing Hyderabad to Telangana in 2014 — it represents a transformative step toward becoming a national digital hub.
