By Dhanendra Kumar
On October 14, Google announced with the Adani Group an investment of $15 billion over 2026-30, to build their first artificial intelligence (AI) hub in India, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Google has been in the crosshairs of the Competition Commission of India, but this time it will be developmental. The data-centre project is Google’s largest globally and biggest outside the US; it will position India in the the top league. It includes the following components.
Gigawatt-scale AI data-centre campus: A hyperscale facility capable of powering the most demanding AI workloads and hosting Google’s own models (Gemini, Imagen, Veo) alongside platforms to build custom agents. International connectivity: A new subsea gateway at Vizag to tie India with Google’s global cable network, adding route diversity beyond Mumbai and Chennai, strengthening eastern seaboard.
Green energy and network upgrades: Partnerships to scale up clean-energy supply and fibre expansions, aligning with “sovereign AI” goals to store and process data within India. Google will bring in ecosystem partners Adani Enterprises (via AdaniConneX) and Airtel for data-centre campus, energy backbone, and subsea/fibre links. The investment is Google’s biggest yet in India. The MoU and partner announcements were made on October 14-15; build-out is envisaged in phases, with power, cooling, fibre, and landing-station works.
Its employment estimates are assessed at 1.8 lakh jobs. The bulk spans data-centre operations, construction, power systems, fibre, cooling, security, logistics, and higher-skill AI/cloud roles (machine learning or ML operations, data engineering, trust and safety, and customer success).
Benefits for India
AI-ready digital backbone: Gigawatt-class compute colocated with a new subsea gateway gives India a strategic compute-connectivity node on the east coast, reducing latency to East/Southeast Asia and adding redundancy to Western corridor landings.
Data sovereignty: Google has underscored local data storage and processing in line with India’s sovereign AI policies—relevant for sectors such as finance, health, and public services.
Industry catalyst: With Google’s own models and platforms, enterprises and start-ups can build AI agents closer to users, for privacy and cost.
Regional development: Vizag’s positioning, port access, urban expansion headroom, and growing electronics manufacturing base make it a natural anchor for an “AI city” cluster on energy, desalination/water recycling, and skill hubs.
The State Investment Promotion Board and Cabinet have approved a package of incentives with an overall cap, reportedly around Rs 22,000 crore, covering categories such as tax reimbursements and utility support tied to investment and performance milestones.
Andhra Pradesh is also facilitating land allocation, single-window clearances, and infrastructure easing for power, water, and last-mile fiber to accelerate timelines, in step with its broader goal of developing 6 gigawatt (Gw) data-centre capacity.
At the Union level, the project has drawn public endorsement, and central agencies are expected to process telecom, subsea landing-station, and environmental clearances speedily, connected to the gateway and long-haul fiber. The announcement is in tune with Digital India and AI leadership ambitions.
Risks and constraints
Power and sustainability: AI data centres are energy-intensive. The tie-up’s clean-energy component will be crucial to keep costs and emissions in check; grid build-out and power purchase agreement (PPA) execution are on a critical path. AdaniConneX, a 50:50 JV between Adani Enterprises and EdgeConneX, envisions an environmentally and socially conscious 1-Gw data-centre infra platform.
Water and cooling: Tropical coastal conditions heighten the importance of efficient cooling and water recycling; state policies must ensure long-term water security as capacity scales.’
Execution sequencing: Subsea gateway timelines, rights-of-way for fibre, local manufacturing capacity, and construction labour availability will shape phasing.
A practical to-do list
Skill at scale: Launch a Vizag AI Workforce Compact, with polytechnics and universities designing curricula with Google and partners for data-centre ops, power systems, networking, and ML engineering. Apprenticeship quotas can lock in local hiring targets year by year.
Green-first infra: Fast-track renewable PPAs, energy-storage pilots, and heat-recovery/circular water systems. Make Vizag a demonstrator for low-carbon AI facility. It is envisaged to build next-generation data centre campus development and green energy infrastructure to power India’s AI-driven future.
Regulatory fast lanes: Create a single-window “AI City Vizag” cell jointly staffed by state and central nodal agencies to shepherd subsea, spectrum, and environmental approvals on a predictable speed.
Start-up flywheel: Incentivise foundry-style AI credits for local start-ups that co-locate or interconnect in Vizag; anchor sector sandboxes (ports and logistics, pharma, fisheries, climate risk) that leverage the new hub’s proximity to industry.
Vendor ecosystem: Proactively cluster cooling, power electronics, racks, cables, and chip-service vendors on a 100-km radius via plug-and-play parks to shorten supply chains and cut capex overrun risk.
Transparent incentives: Publish incentive schedule, milestones, and audit rules to sustain public confidence and crowd in more foreign direct investment for Andhra’s 6-Gw data-centre goal.
Vizag could become our most strategic AI infra node, a compute-and-connectivity bridge between India and the Indo-Pacific. It will require disciplined execution of clean power, water efficiency, approvals, and skills. If those levers are pulled with precision, Google’s bet may do more than add servers and cables; it could re-map India’s AI economy to its east coast and anchor Andhra Pradesh on the global tech map for the next decade.
The writer is chairman at the Competition Advisory Services India LLP (COMPAD)
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