NEW DELHI — Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., announced plans to invest $15 billion in a major artificial intelligence and cloud data hub in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, underscoring both India’s rising technological prominence and the global race to build next-generation computing infrastructure.

The new AI data center, located in the port city of Visakhapatnam, will be Google’s largest such facility outside the United States, Thomas Kurian, chief executive of Google Cloud, said during an event in New Delhi on Tuesday. The investment will be distributed over five years as part of Alphabet’s broader push to expand AI infrastructure across 12 countries.

“This is the largest AI hub we are building globally beyond the U.S.,” Mr. Kurian said, describing it as a cornerstone of Google’s international AI strategy.

The announcement comes amid growing calls from Washington for American technology giants to prioritize domestic investment. Yet the move highlights how India has become indispensable to global tech supply chains, offering low data costs, expanding digital infrastructure, and a fast-growing internet population that now exceeds 900 million users.

Alphabet’s CEO Sundar Pichai said the project “will bring our industry-leading technology to enterprises and users in India, accelerating AI innovation and driving growth across the country.”

The government of Andhra Pradesh hailed the decision as a milestone in the state’s digital and industrial development. “It is a massive leap for our state’s digital future, innovation, and global standing,” said Nara Lokesh, the state’s technology minister.

According to Bloomberg News, the data hub forms part of the state’s plan to develop 6 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2029. The site will integrate renewable energy systems and an expanded fiber-optic network, reflecting global shifts toward sustainable AI infrastructure.

India’s data center capacity surpassed 1GW in 2024, nearly triple its 2019 level, according to JLL’s India Data Centre Market Dynamics report. The government has also offered subsidized land and electricity to attract global investors, joining similar initiatives in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Ireland, where multinational firms are building high-efficiency data campuses.

Internationally, Google’s investment follows a surge of AI infrastructure spending: Amazon Web Services pledged $12.7 billion in India by 2030, while Microsoft recently opened new Azure regions in Telangana and Indonesia. Analysts say these investments illustrate how AI’s energy and data demands are reshaping global industrial geography.

“Data is the new steel,” said a senior analyst at London-based GlobalData, noting that “nations with digital infrastructure capacity will define the next phase of the global economy.”

The project’s final agreement is set to be signed later this week, with construction expected to begin in 2026. (zai)