AI is poised to accelerate progress at an unprecedented pace, but only if we democratize access to it from the start. Today, Google announces new investments in digital infrastructure and training initiatives designed to increase connectivity, accelerate economic growth, and deepen resilience in India and around the world.
Expanding AI connectivity across four continents
Infrastructure is essential to prevent the digital divide from becoming an AI divide. Today we announce America-India Connect, a collaborative infrastructure initiative based on our Five-year investment in $15 billion AI infrastructure in India to increase the reach, reliability and resilience of digital connectivity across four continents.
In collaboration with local partners, America-India Connect will establish a new international submarine gateway in Visakhapatnam (Vizag); three new submarine routes connecting India with Singapore, South Africa and Australia; and four strategic fiber optic routes that strengthen network resilience and capacity between the United States, India and multiple locations across the Southern Hemisphere.
Connecting the East Coast of India (Vizag)
We are developing a direct fiber optic route between Vizag and Chennai on the east coast of India to South Africa. When combined with the equiano and nuvem submarine cable systems, this will create a high-capacity redundant route connecting the east coast of the United States around Africa to Vizag.
Additionally, we are providing a direct route between Vizag and Singapore. When combined with the Boatswain and tabua submarine cable systems, this will create a route in the South Pacific that will connect the west coast of the United States through Australia to Vizag.
These investments will establish Vizag as a major international submarine gateway, adding vital diversity to the existing landings in Mumbai and Chennai. For a nation of over a billion people, this will increase the resilience of India’s digital backbone and improve economic security.
Connecting the west coast of India
We are building a direct fiber optic route between Mumbai and Western Australia. In combination with the TalayLink and Honomoana submarine cable systems, this will create a route in the South Pacific that will connect the west coast of the United States around Australia with Mumbai.
This new path complements the Blue, Ramanand Sun submarine cables, which together form a data corridor from the east coast of the United States across the Red Sea to Mumbai.
Closing the AI gap
A reliable infrastructure is the best way to counter the digital divide. It is well documented that greater connectivity through submarine cables improves the affordability and reliability of the Internet, boosting productivity and long-term economic growth. With greater access to digital services, people can develop new skills, and businesses and public sector organizations can better serve their communities, helping to prevent the AI gap from becoming entrenched.
These routes do more than move bits and bytes: they honor a long history of global connection by turning merchant shipping routes between the “New World” and India into digital trade routes between two countries, bringing their economies closer together.
America-India Connect builds on our work with dozens of regional partners to advance access to AI in Africa, Australiaand the Peaceful. We look forward to sharing more as we work closely with these partners to strengthen global connectivity and bring the benefits of AI to everyone.
Discovering the benefits of AI transformation
While resilient infrastructure is the foundation for access to technology, reaping the full benefits of AI also requires investing in the people who use it. That’s why we’re working closely with governments to equip people with the digital skills they need to take advantage of new opportunities.
Karmayogi Bharat (Government of India’s digital mission) and Google Cloud are collaborating to accelerate Mission Karmayogi’s vision of building a future-ready public administration by leveraging AI-enabled digital capabilities across the country. As a premier cloud partner, Google Cloud provides a secure and resilient infrastructure for got (Online Integrated Government Training) Karmayogi Platform. This scalable infrastructure supports more than 20 million public servers in more than 800 districts, providing reliable access to learning services at scale.
AI will also improve access, discoverability and learning effectiveness on the iGOT platform. By digitizing and structuring legacy training repositories into searchable knowledge assets and progressively enabling content in over 18 Indian languages, the partnership will help promote professional development and empower officials to learn in their preferred language.
We are as committed as ever to partnering with communities, businesses, and governments to foster innovation in AI for all, and we are excited to support the next generation of global connection.