How India plans to close the AI gap with a $175bn tech push
India is ramping up efforts to narrow the artificial intelligence (AI) gap with the United States and China, unveiling plans for a massive technology expansion centred on a new “data city” in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking ahead of an international AI summit in New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh said the country has secured investment agreements worth $175 billion across 760 projects. The flagship development will be based in Visakhapatnam, a port city better known for cricket than cutting-edge technology.
Lokesh described the AI boom as unavoidable. “The AI revolution is here,” he said, adding that India has decided to embrace the shift fully.
Among the biggest commitments is a reported $15 billion investment by Google to build its largest AI infrastructure hub outside the United States. A joint venture involving Reliance Industries, Canada’s Brookfield and US-based Digital Realty is also investing $11 billion in an AI-focused data centre in the same city.
The plan envisions a 100-kilometre technology ecosystem anchored by high-capacity data centres, server manufacturing, cooling systems and submarine internet cable links connecting India to Singapore. The state government is offering land at heavily subsidised rates to attract investors.
India currently ranks third globally in AI capacity, according to Stanford University’s AI index, behind the US and China.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
