In line with the ongoing AI Impact Summit 2026, Google on Wednesday, February 18, announced a series of infrastructure investments, research partnerships and skilling initiatives to strengthen India’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and digital connectivity.
One of the major highlights of the event in Delhi was the launch of the America-India Connect subsea cable initiative. This essentially creates new strategic fibre-optic routes linking India, the United States and parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
According to Google, the project has been designed to improve the reach and reliability of global connectivity, reinforcing the robust physical infra required to bolster large-scale AI adoption. This project builds on Google’s existing subsea cable investments across the Pacific and Africa.
The latest announcement comes at a time when the search giant continues to expand its footprint in India with its recent $15 billion investment to build an AI hub in Visakhapatanam.
Speaking at the summit, Preeti Lobana, vice president and country manager at Google India, said AI represents a “generational opportunity” whose impact depends on local accessibility and relevance. She said Google aims to act as an enabler by providing infrastructure, research capabilities and skills that allow countries such as India to drive their own digital transformation.
Meanwhile, as part of its research push, Google DeepMind unveiled new partnerships with Indian government bodies and institutions to boost AI-powered science and education. The company will work with the Anusandhan National Research Foundation to support the adoption of frontier AI-for-science models, including AlphaGenome, AI Co-scientist and Earth AI. The partnership will also include training programmes, hackathons, mentorship and community challenges for students and early-career researchers.
In education, Google DeepMind is collaborating with Atal Tinkering Labs to integrate generative AI tools into classrooms across more than 10,000 schools serving around 11 million students. The initiative will support robotics and coding curricula, integrate Gemini into teacher workflows with safeguards, and develop an AI assistant aligned with national curriculum standards. Google will also partner with PM Publishers Pvt. Ltd. to convert textbooks into interactive digital formats.
Story continues below this ad
Google also announced large-scale workforce and skilling initiatives. Through a partnership with Karmayogi Bharat, Google Cloud will help scale the iGOT Karmayogi platform to support professional development for 20 million public servants across more than 800 districts, with content gradually becoming available in over 18 Indian languages. Also, Google will roll out its AI Professional Certificate programme in India in partnership with Wadhwani AI, offering practical AI training in English and Hindi, with additional languages planned.
In order to encourage responsible and sustainable AI innovation, Google introduced two global funding initiatives: a $30 million Google.org AI for Government Innovation Impact Challenge and a $30 million AI for Science Impact Challenge. The company also announced the launch of a Google Center for Climate Technology in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India.
Comments are closed.