New Delhi, February 18, 2026 — Google CEO Sundar Pichai today announced a landmark $15 billion (₹1.25 lakh crore) investment over the next five years to expand AI infrastructure across India, including the launch of the America-India Connect initiative.
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Pichai revealed that the flagship project will build a new generation of subsea cable routes and a major international subsea gateway in Visakhapatnam (Vizag), significantly boosting connectivity between India, the United States, and multiple southern hemisphere locations.
Key infrastructure components include:
- Three new subsea cable paths linking India to Singapore, South Africa, and Australia.
- Four strategic inland fiber-optic routes to strengthen domestic backbone.
- Direct high-capacity connectivity between India and the United States.
“This initiative delivers new subsea cable routes to increase AI connectivity between India, the United States of America, and multiple locations across the southern hemisphere,” Pichai said. He added, “India is going to have an extraordinary trajectory with AI.”
The Vizag gateway will serve as a new landing point, reducing latency, enhancing internet resilience, and supporting India’s ambition to become a global AI powerhouse. The project is expected to create thousands of jobs and accelerate cloud, AI, and digital economy growth.
Google’s $15 billion commitment (announced earlier but detailed today) also includes expansion of data centres, cloud regions, and AI training/skilling programmes in India.
The announcement has been widely welcomed as a major vote of confidence in India’s digital infrastructure push under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.