Tech giant Google, through its parent company Alphabet, is reportedly gearing up for a massive investment of $6 billion to set up a 1 GW data centre along with supporting power infrastructure in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
According to sources cited by Reuters, the investment will include a significant $2 billion allocation for renewable energy, which will help power the facility sustainably. This would mark Alphabet’s first data centre investment of this scale in India, and the largest such facility in Asia by both capacity and capital infusion.
The announcement signals a major boost for India’s data infrastructure ambitions at a time when global tech players are accelerating investments to meet rising demands for AI and cloud computing. The push for local data capacity comes on the back of rapid advancements in generative AI (GenAI) and increasing digital services consumption.
Speaking to Reuters, Andhra Pradesh’s IT Minister Nara Lokesh said, “We’ve made certain announcements like Sify (550-MW data centre to be built in the state), which are public… There are certain announcements which are not yet public. In October, we will make those announcements.”
The state has already secured data centre investments totaling 1.6 GW, with a broader goal of achieving 6 GW in capacity over the next five years, most of which are expected to be powered by green energy. Lokesh also noted the state anticipates a 10 GW power demand from these projects in the same period.
Google’s move follows a wave of big-ticket data centre investments in India. In recent months:
- Microsoft announced a $3.7 Bn investment in cloud and AI infrastructure.
- Amazon is planning to invest $13 Bn in its Indian cloud operations by 2030.
- Blackstone was reported to be exploring a $6 Bn data centre plan in Maharashtra.
- NTT DATA and Neysa Networks partnered with the Telangana government for a ₹10,500 Cr AI data centre cluster in Hyderabad.
- Reliance Group is reportedly planning to build a 3 GW data centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat—possibly the world’s largest by capacity.
This surge reflects India’s emergence as a global data hub and underscores the strategic importance of infrastructure to support the digital economy.
