Google deepens India focus with AI-led Startups Hub in Hyderabad

Tech major Google on Wednesday expanded its commitment to India’s startup ecosystem with the launch of the Google for Startups Hub at T-Hub in Hyderabad — its first such facility housed within a state-led innovation ecosystem. The initiative, built in partnership with the Government of Telangana, is positioned as a “springboard for AI-first startups and a catalyst for investment, mentorship, and global market access,” the company said in a statement.

The Hub reinforces Google’s broader India strategy, which includes multi-year investments into digital skilling, AI research, and support for early-stage founders. Over the past several years, the tech major has backed Indian startups through equity investments, accelerator programs, and skilling initiatives focused on emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence.

As per the company’s statement issued on December 10, the Hyderabad Hub will offer selected startups free, year-long dedicated co-working space along with access to a curated network of venture capital firms. Google and Telangana will jointly select AI-first teams and founders from across the state, including tier-2 and university-led early-stage ventures.

As part of the global Google for Startups network, the Hub is designed as a full-stack support system — beginning with product development and extending to responsible AI scaling in India and international markets. Founders will receive structured mentorship across AI/ML, UX, product road mapping, and go-to-market strategies, as well as dedicated support for women entrepreneurs and student innovators.

The facility - inaugurated by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and IT & Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu - will include infrastructure, technology resources, networking zones, and spaces for market access programs, workshops and collaboration-driven events with investors and ecosystem partners. 

By embedding the Google for Startups Hub into the state’s innovation corridor — anchored by THub, T-Works, WE-Hub, and cybersecurity and AI Centres of Excellence — Telangana is positioning itself as a launchpad for high-growth, deep-tech businesses. “This is more than infrastructure,” said Reddy. “It is a promise that ideas conceived in Hyderabad will have the mentorship, technology and market access to scale globally.”

Preeti Lobana, Country Manager, Google India, said the partnership enables Google to bring the “full stack of support” — spanning AI capabilities on Google Cloud to developer and startup programs — to founders working on deep-tech and responsible AI solutions. “The Hub will act as an innovation flywheel for startups, helping the next generation of Indian founders use AI to solve real-world challenges,” she added.

With Hyderabad fast emerging as a hub for engineering and R&D, the move underscores how global tech giants are sharpening their incubation playbooks in India — now one of the world’s most dynamic startup ecosystems and a growing centre for AI-led innovation.
Google’s expanded presence comes at a time when global technology companies are sharply scaling their on-ground commitments to India’s deep-tech ecosystem — turning the country into a base for AI research, advanced R&D, product engineering, and next-gen cloud infrastructure. 

In a related news published on Wednesday, Amazon plans to invest more than $35 billion in India by 2030 to expand its operations by boosting artificial intelligence capabilities and increasing exports, the U.S. e-commerce giant said, as global tech firms deepen their presence in Asia's third-largest economy.

Major U.S. tech firms have poured billions of dollars into India this year, underscoring the country's emergence as a strategic hub for cloud, AI and deep‑tech growth. Microsoft recently announced a $17.5-billion investment to build AI and cloud infrastructure in India, bolstering compute capacity and expanding AI skilling and enterprise adoption programs. U.S. chipmaker Nvidia has joined the India Deep Tech Alliance, contributing to a global pool backing AI, semiconductor, robotics and space-tech innovators. Google itself recently teamed up with global venture firm Accel to hunt for India’s “next AI breakouts.” Under their collaboration, the companies are committing to invest up to $2 million per startup in early-stage AI ventures.