As global tech giants turn their attention to India, this South Asian nation is rapidly emerging as a new leader in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The Indian government is actively attracting tech companies to invest in areas such as electronics manufacturing and data storage by offering incentives, aiming to leverage the country's rapidly growing tech market and abundant talent resources to establish India as a major consumer and exporter of AI.
It is reported that Microsoft has committed to invest approximately $3.7 billion in the southern Indian state of Telangana, with plans to build data centers that will add 660 megawatts of IT capacity, equivalent to the annual electricity demand of about 500,000 European households. Meanwhile, Amazon has announced plans to invest about $12.7 billion in India by 2030 for cloud infrastructure. These investments not only highlight the attractiveness of the Indian market but also signal a significant elevation of India's position in global data center construction.
Major tech companies are competing to enhance their cloud computing capabilities to gain dominance in generative AI. This year, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google have announced infrastructure investment plans totaling at least $85 billion, covering countries such as Singapore, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. This trend is expected to propel India from sixth to first place in self-built data center capacity in the Asia-Pacific region.
India's strategic layout not only facilitates the rapid development of the domestic digital economy but also provides substantial market opportunities for global tech companies. India has already become Microsoft's largest R&D base outside the United States, with a quarter of global AI projects on GitHub originating from the country. Despite the potential environmental impacts of data center construction and operation, companies like Microsoft have committed to reducing their carbon footprint through the procurement of renewable energy, aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
India's ambitious aspirations are undoubtedly set to stir new waves in the global AI field, while also paving the way for the country's sustainable development and technological innovation. With continuous investments from tech giants and ongoing technological advancements, India is poised to play a more significant role in the era of artificial intelligence in the future.