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Bhubaneswar
HCLTech has announced an investment of ₹14,257 crore to establish its first artificial intelligence (AI) data centre in Odisha in partnership with AI startup Sarvam and the Odisha government, marking one of the country’s biggest investments in sovereign AI infrastructure. The facility will be developed at the upcoming Odisha Sovereign AI Park in Bhubaneswar and is expected to accelerate India’s ambitions of building indigenous AI capabilities while supporting both government and enterprise applications.
The project will combine HCLTech’s full-stack AI capabilities with Sarvam’s foundation models to develop sector-specific AI solutions. According to the company, the data centre will support multilingual AI services, strengthen data sovereignty, and help build a robust local AI developer ecosystem. The investment includes financial assistance from the Odisha government.
Alongside the AI data centre, HCLTech will establish a Global Technology Center in Bhubaneswar that will accommodate around 5,000 employees and is expected to become operational by 2028. The expansion is part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its presence in emerging technology hubs across India while creating high-skilled employment opportunities.
HCLTech Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra said the initiative would help advance India’s sovereign AI ecosystem through focused investments and strategic partnerships. CEO and Managing Director C. Vijayakumar described the project as a significant milestone in the company’s full-stack AI strategy, enabling HCLTech to deliver integrated AI services spanning infrastructure, computing, models and applications.
The announcement follows HCLTech’s recent investment in Sarvam AI and comes as Indian IT firms increasingly diversify into AI infrastructure amid rising demand for cloud computing and generative AI services. Industry experts believe India’s large digital economy, expanding internet user base and competitive operating costs position the country as a key destination for AI data centre investments.
