NEW DELHI, India — Alphabet and Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai on Wednesday announced the India-America Connect Initiative, a major effort to strengthen artificial intelligence collaboration between India and the United States through new subsea cable infrastructure.
Speaking on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Pichai said the initiative will establish new undersea cable routes aimed at boosting digital capacity and AI connectivity not only between India and the U.S., but also across several regions in the southern hemisphere.
He said the project is critical to meeting rising demand for AI-driven infrastructure and enabling faster, more reliable data flows needed to support advanced computing and large-scale AI deployment.
Pichai emphasized that infrastructure investment must be matched with efforts to build human capital, announcing Google’s most ambitious skilling initiative in India to date. The company is launching a new Google AI Professional Certificate program designed to help students and working professionals apply AI tools in everyday tasks and develop future-ready skills.
In another significant announcement, Pichai said the Indian government and Google DeepMind will collaborate on frontier AI research, marking a major partnership between the public sector and one of the world’s leading AI research organizations.
Describing the current moment as transformational, Pichai said technology and large-scale AI adoption are set to drive sweeping changes over the next decade.
“It feels like the beginning of a decade-long change driven by technology, innovation and large-scale adoption of AI,” he said.
While noting that India is uniquely positioned to benefit from artificial intelligence, Pichai stressed that the opportunity comes with responsibility. He said sustained investment in AI research and widespread adoption across sectors will be essential to ensure inclusive and long-term gains.
Earlier in the day, Pichai said Google is embedding AI across its India operations to improve healthcare delivery, support startups, boost agricultural productivity, and expand digital services.
He also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss India’s expanding AI ecosystem and potential collaboration between Google and the country’s growing pool of students, researchers, and technology professionals. (Source: IANS)
