Google's parent company Alphabet will invest $15bn (£11.29bn) to build an AI data hub in southern India's Andhra Pradesh state.

The facility, which will be set up in the port city of Visakhapatnam, will be part of Google's global network of AI centres across 12 countries.

It's the largest AI hub that we are going to be investing in anywhere in the world, outside of the United States, stated Thomas Kurian, the CEO of Google Cloud, during an event in Delhi, adding that the investment will be distributed over the next five years.

This announcement comes amid US President Donald Trump's calls for American companies to focus on domestic investments.

India has emerged as a crucial destination for AI data centres due to low data costs and a rapidly increasing internet user base, making it an attractive site for international tech giants.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai noted that the new facility will enhance access to leading technology for Indian enterprises and consumers, fostering AI innovation and aiding economic growth.

A formal agreement to finalize the project will be signed on Tuesday, as confirmed by the Andhra Pradesh government.

The state's technology minister, Nara Lokesh, remarked, It is a massive leap for our state's digital future, innovation, and global standing. The project aims to integrate cloud and AI infrastructure with renewable energy systems and an expanded fiber-optic network.

Furthermore, this initiative aligns with the Andhra Pradesh government's objective to develop 6GW of data centre capacity by 2029.

Data centres are essential facilities housing the computing and networking equipment needed to collect, process, store, and distribute data. They encompass a variety of technologies including servers and storage systems, and are supported by necessary power and cooling systems.

To attract global investors, the Andhra Pradesh government has been offering subsidized land and electricity.

The growth of India's data centre industry has been remarkable over the past five years, reaching over 1GW capacity in 2024 and nearly tripling its capacity since 2019, according to JLL's India Data Centre Market Dynamics 2024 report.