In late 2025, a major announcement changed the global tech landscape. Google, in a significant partnership with the Government of India and the state of Andhra Pradesh, announced plans to build a $15 billion (₹1.25 lakh crore) “Google AI Hub in Visakhapatnam” .
As we enter 2026, this facility, the first of its kind in India, has become central to the “Viksit Bharat 2047” vision. It is more than just another data center; it is a Gigawatt-scale intelligence factory built to handle the most demanding AI workloads in the Indo-Pacific. This 1,300-word guide outlines the architecture, economics, and geopolitical consequences of this landmark project.
- The Strategic Pivot: Why Visakhapatnam?
For years, India’s digital infrastructure focused mainly on two cities: Mumbai and Chennai. Google’s choice to invest $15 billion in Visakhapatnam addresses three significant challenges: redundancy, cooling, and regional access.
The “Eastern Landing” Strategy
Most of India’s subsea cables have historically come to the West Coast, especially in Mumbai. This created a strategic risk—a single failure point that could disrupt the nation’s digital connectivity. By selecting Visakhapatnam, Google has established a new Eastern Gateway, making this facility the main landing spot for a new network of subsea cables that directly connects India to Singapore, Australia, and the US West Coast without having to go through the congested Arabian Sea routes. Read more….
The Port City Advantage
A gigawatt-scale data center is a large structure. It needs huge cooling towers, industrial-grade power transformers, and a steady supply of server racks. Visakhapatnam’s status as a significant deep-water port lets Google ship its custom-designed Trillium TPU hardware straight to the site, avoiding the delays of inland transport.
- Technical Specifications: The Gigawatt-Scale Reality
The standout feature of the Vizag hub is its 1-Gigawatt (1-GW) capacity. To grasp the scale, 1 GW can power about 750,000 homes. In Visakhapatnam, that energy goes into a single, high-density silicon landscape.
Google Trillium: The Heart of the Hub
The Visakhapatnam Hub is the main site for Trillium, Google’s 6th-generation Tensor Processing Unit (TPU).
AI Performance: Trillium TPUs are made specifically for Large Language Models (LLMs) like Gemini 2.0. They provide a 4.7x boost in peak computing performance per chip compared to previous models.
Power Efficiency: These chips, despite their capacity, are 2x more power-efficient, an essential factor for a facility of this size.
Full AI Stack: The hub allows Google to deploy its entire AI stack, which provides the same infrastructure that supports key global services like Search, YouTube, and Workspace for Indian businesses.
Effective Cooling: Liquid-to-Chip Technology
Since AI chips run much hotter than standard CPUs, Google has installed a closed-loop liquid cooling system. This setup helps maintain a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.1, well below the industry average of 1.6, making it one of the most environmentally friendly hyperscale centers on the planet.
- The International Subsea Gateway
A data center’s value lies in its connections. Google is creating a new International Subsea Gateway in Vizag that connects India directly to:
Southeast Asia: High-speed fiber links to Singapore and Malaysia.
Oceania: Fast connections to Australia.
Global Connectivity: These cables provide a direct, high-capacity link to Google’s global network of two million miles of fiber, both terrestrial and subsea.
This gateway avoids traditional bottlenecks, making Vizag the main hub for digital traffic between the West and East.
- Sovereignty and Security: “AI for India”
One major aspect of the $15 billion investment is its emphasis on Data Sovereignty. In a time when data is likened to “the new oil,” the Visakhapatnam Hub guarantees that India’s most confidential information stays within its borders.
Google AI Hub in Visakhapatnam
The “Gemini Local” Initiative
Previously, many sophisticated AI tasks had to be handled in data centers in the US. With the Vizag hub, Google provides a fully localized solution.
Local Hosting: Government organizations and regulated sectors (Finance, Healthcare) can now train and deploy Gemini models completely within Indian borders.
Compliance: It meets all requirements of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.
Sovereign Cloud: In partnership with Airtel Business, Google is creating a “Sovereign AI Cloud” that ensures sensitive government data stays within the domestic network.
- Economic Impact: 188,000 Jobs and Beyond
The project directly supports India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, which aims to make the country a developed nation.
Job Creation: Google anticipates the hub will create 188,000 jobs (both direct and indirect) by 2030, covering roles from advanced AI research to construction and clean energy maintenance.
GDP Contribution: The hub could add an estimated $15 billion to GDP via increased cloud and AI use.
The Multiplier Effect: Beyond direct jobs, the hub is attracting a network of startups and related industries to Visakhapatnam, turning it into a “Smart Tech Zone.”
- Powering the Beast: The Green Energy Partnership
Running a 1-GW facility requires more than just a standard power grid. Google has teamed up with AdaniConneX (a joint venture of Adani Enterprises and EdgeConneX) to create a large Renewable Energy Ecosystem.
Solar & Wind: Designated “Green Corridors” in Andhra Pradesh will supply wind and solar energy directly to the Vizag grid.
Energy Storage: The hub features advanced utility-scale battery storage to ensure the data center remains 100% carbon-free even when the sun isn’t shining.
Grid Resilience: The new transmission lines built for the hub also help strengthen Andhra Pradesh’s overall electricity grid, benefiting the local community.
- Competitive Landscape: Google vs. Microsoft vs. AWS
This $15 billion initiative directly competes with AWS (Hyderabad) and Microsoft (Pune/Mumbai).
Speed: By starting with a 1-GW capacity, Google has outpaced the existing “Regions” of its rivals.
Full-Stack: While others focus on cloud storage, Google offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) specifically designed for AI-heavy workloads (Gemini, Imagine, and Veo).
- The Social Impact: AI for Every Citizen
Google’s “AI for All” initiative, based at the Vizag hub, aims to provide the benefits of intelligence to everyday people in Indian society.
Agriculture and Healthcare
Precision Farming: The hub will process vast amounts of satellite and sensor data from Indian farms, giving real-time AI guidance to farmers about crop health and irrigation.
Diagnostic AI: Localized models trained in Vizag are being used in rural Andhra Pradesh clinics to identify early-stage diabetic retinopathy and tuberculosis through low-cost mobile devices.
Conclusion: Visakhapatnam as the Future of Intelligence
The Google AI Hub in Visakhapatnam is more than just a server cluster. It represents confidence in India’s role as the “AI Office of the World.” By combining gigawatt-scale power, clean energy, and a new international gateway, Google has transformed a coastal port city into a global tech powerhouse.
For the Indo-Pacific region, Vizag is now more than just a city; it is the engine of the 21st-century digital economy. As the facility becomes fully operational by 2030, it will not only support India but also serve as a beacon of technology for the entire world.
