'India on extraordinary AI trajectory': Pichai outlines Google's big bets

The Alphabet and Google CEO outlined the company's investment, skilling and connectivity initiatives for India as part of its broader artificial intelligence expansion plans

Google’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai on Wednesday said India stood on an “extraordinary trajectory” in artificial intelligence (AI) and reiterated the company’s commitment to partner in the country’s AI transition.

 

The Indian-origin top executive of both Google and its parent Alphabet is in New Delhi for the India AI Summit. He is scheduled to participate in the summit on February 20.

 

“AI is the biggest platform shift of our lifetime,” Pichai said at a Google event in New Delhi. He said that has the potential to address large-scale challenges, including improving healthcare diagnostics and providing farmers with real-time alerts.

 

According to Pichai, India’s diversity, language ecosystem and digital public infrastructure formed a “powerful foundation for innovation” and a model for expanding access to artificial intelligence globally.

Focus on trust, safety and inclusion

Pichai said the adoption of AI requires a focus on trust, safety and inclusion. “AI must work across languages and local contexts. It must deliver real-world benefits people can rely on. Trust grows when technology is transparent, responsible and grounded in outcomes,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

 

He said that collaboration with institutions that understood communities would remain central to responsible deployment. “AI has the biggest impact when developed and deployed with institutions that understand communities best,” he said, referring to partnerships with Indian Institutes of Technology, government agencies and local organisations.

Connectivity and infrastructure plans

At the event, Pichai also announced the India-America Connect Initiative, which is a project to deploy new subsea cable routes to strengthen AI connectivity between the United States, India, and locations across the southern hemisphere.

 

“Google has full-stack connectivity in India, and I have never been more excited about the future we are building together,” Pichai was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

 

He also referred to Google’s earlier announcement of a $15 billion AI hub in India that will include large-scale computing infrastructure and an international subsea cable gateway. The facility is expected to support jobs as well as advanced technology infrastructure in the country.

Skilling and institutional partnerships

The Google CEO further outlined training initiatives, including a Google AI Professional Certificate programme in English and Hindi aimed at students and early-career professionals.

 

He said Google planned partnerships with Karma Yogi Bharat, a state-run special purpose vehicle under the Department of Personnel and Training to enhance government officials’ competency, to support more than 20 million public servants, and with Atal Tinkering Labs to introduce generative artificial intelligence tools in 10,000 schools.

 

The company also announced a $30 million ‘AI for Science Impact Challenge’ to support global research.

Meeting with PM Modi

Earlier in the day, Pichai met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a post on X, PM Modi said: “It was a delight to meet Mr Sundar Pichai on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. We discussed the work India is doing in AI and how Google can work with our talented students and professionals in this field.”

 

Responding to the post, Pichai wrote: “Great to meet the Honorable PM @narendramodi this morning. We discussed how Google is helping with his mission to infuse AI at all levels in India to improve health, expand access to information in all languages, support startups, agriculture and more. Thank you, Prime Minister, for bringing us together for this summit.”