Google AI Data Hub in Visakhapatnam: $15 Billion Project
Why in the news
Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister was due to lay the foundation of Google’s $15 billion AI data centre campus near Visakhapatnam. The project is one of the biggest single foreign direct investments in India’s technology sector.
Key facts
- Investment: $15 billion.
- Developer: Google’s subsidiary Raiden Infotech, with Adani Infra providing infrastructure and power strength.
- Capacity: planned 1 GW, among the largest data centre campuses worldwide.
- Sites: Tarluvada and Adavivaram in Visakhapatnam district, and Rambilli in Anakapalli district.
Objectives
- Serve as Google’s first major AI-focused infrastructure in India, supporting local and global AI work.
- Make Visakhapatnam, the City of Destiny, a global cloud and technology destination.
- Form the centrepiece of a 6.5 GW digital ecosystem in the state, with renewable plants and advanced manufacturing units.
Technical features
| Feature | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Submarine cable landing stations | Endpoint for high-capacity undersea cables giving fast, low-latency links to global markets |
| AI-ready design | Optimised for GPU-heavy work such as training LLMs and processing live AI data |
| Cybersecurity zones | Dedicated areas for global data connectivity and security monitoring |
Background
- AI chips such as GPUs draw far more power and give off more heat than regular chips, hence the 1 GW scale.
- Undersea fibre-optic cables carry 99% of international data; a landing station next to the hub allows the fastest routes.
- Latency is the time data takes to travel between points; Visakhapatnam’s coast shortens sea-cable distance.
Exam angle
- State: Andhra Pradesh; partner: Adani Infra; subsidiary: Raiden Infotech.
- Related terms: FDI, GPU, latency, submarine cable landing station.