As Google announces a $15 billion investment to build a large-scale data centre in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, key Indian companies have begun forging partnerships with the global giant.
Adani Enterprises and Bharti Airtel have inked pacts with Google to support the infrastructure and cable network. Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said that “meeting the demands of India’s AI Mission requires cutting-edge infrastructure, computational power, and ubiquitous connectivity.”
What the Bharti Airtel-Google partnership entails
In an exchange filing, Bharti Airtel stated that its partnership with Google involves establishing a state-of-the-art Cable Landing Station (CLS) to host Google’s new international subsea cables, which will connect to its extensive global terrestrial and subsea infrastructure.
Furthermore, Airtel stated that as part of the project, it created both intra-city and inter-city fibre networks. The company said that the high-capacity, low-latency network will deliver faster experiences to Google customers and increase the resilience and capacity of India’s digital backbone.
“This partnership with Google is a defining moment in India’s digital future. By combining world-class AI infrastructure with our nation’s extraordinary talent and also expanding global connectivity, we are laying the foundation for India to become a leader in the AI-driven era.” Gopal Vittal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, said in a statement.
What the Adani partnership with Google include
Adani and Google partnership includes next-generation data centre campus development and green energy infrastructure to power India’s AI-driven future.
As per the exchange filing, Google’s AI hub in Visakhapatnam is a multi-faceted investment of approximately $15 billion over five years (2026-2030), comprising gigawatt-scale data centre operations, supported by a robust subsea cable network and clean energy, to drive the AI workloads in India. Collaboration with ecosystem partners including AdaniConneX and Airtel will enable this.
Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group said, “To unlock India’s massive potential in the AI age, we are investing in the Google AI hub, which will provide the critical foundation to drive growth and enable businesses, researchers, and creators to build and scale with AI.”
Data centre gold rush
The massive 1 GW data centre announcement by Google in India comes amid intensifying competition among giant tech companies. Microsoft and Amazon have already comitted billions on building data centres in India.
Besides India, Google has committed to spending around $85 billion this year to expand its data centre capacity