Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today announced that global tech giant Google has signed an agreement with the state paving the way for a major initiative in Artificial Intelligence in Visakhapatnam. He described it as a “gamechanger” to transform the port city into a global service hub.

Announcing the agreement signed with Google at the district collectors’ conference held at the Secretariat, he said, “Recently when IT Minister (Nara Lokesh) went to America, he went to Google campus and requested them. And the result of that is today we have an agreement with Google. We signed a MoU (agreement) before coming here. We are looking at a big opportunity in AI.”

Naidu, who had once ushered undivided AP into the IT age, pointed out that if big companies like Google come to Visakhapatnam under strategic investment it would be a game changer. Ever since the state was bifurcated the residuary state of AP has been lagging in industrialisation. He also said that the Google executives were satisfied with Visakhapatnam’s potential as a strategic location. He added that data centers, AI, and deep tech projects will transform the port city into a hub of global services.

The CM even took to social media to announce, “Our new progressive industrial policies have created a business-friendly ecosystem, attracting investors, paving the way for employment opportunities. Following up on the MoU signed between the Government of AP and Google, I met a Google delegation led by VP Mr Bikash Koley in Amaravati today.” He then went on to add, “I am proud that Andhra Pradesh has been identified as a key partner. During the meeting, we also discussed various potential areas for collaboration. I am confident that collaborations with global technology leaders such as Google will empower our State, ultimately contributing to India’s digital growth story.”

He said the interlinking of Google with Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) will bring in radical changes in administration. He announced at the conference that till now Rs four lakh crore investments have been made in the state which will create over four lakh jobs.