TECH

Tech Brief (Oct. 15): Google to Invest $15 Billion in India for AI Hub

Published: Oct. 15, 2025 7:19 p.m. GMT+8

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Google to invest $15 billion in India for AI hub

On Oct. 14, Google announced it will establish an AI hub in India. The company said the project will integrate AI infrastructure, data centers, new large-scale energy sources and fiber optic networks. The investment plan totals approximately $15 billion over five years from 2026 to 2030, marking Google’s largest-ever investment in India. Google analysis suggests the project is expected to add at least $15 billion to the U.S. GDP over five years due to new economic activity from cloud computing and AI applications as well as the involvement of U.S. talent and resources.

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Google will invest $15 billion in an AI hub in India from 2026 to 2030, projecting at least $15 billion added to U.S. GDP.
OpenAI and Broadcom will codevelop AI chips, while JPMorgan announced a $1.5 trillion investment plan in U.S. economic security sectors.
Instagram will apply PG-13-style content ratings for teens, and China’s three major carriers are cleared for eSIM trials.

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Who’s Who

Google: Google plans to invest $15 billion over five years (2026-2030) to establish an AI hub in India. This will be its largest investment in the country, integrating AI infrastructure, data centers, energy sources, and fiber optic networks. Google analysis predicts this project will add at least $15 billion to the U.S. GDP.

OpenAI: OpenAI is collaborating with Broadcom to co-develop and deploy 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators, aiming to embed model learnings directly into hardware. Additionally, OpenAI has partnered with Walmart to enable AI-powered shopping and instant checkout through ChatGPT, leveraging "agentic commerce" to anticipate user needs.

Broadcom: Broadcom is partnering with OpenAI to co-develop AI chips. This collaboration aims to jointly deploy 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators, with OpenAI leading the design and working with Broadcom on development and deployment.

Instagram: Instagram announced new content guidelines for teenage accounts, defaulting to a PG-13 movie rating standard. This restricts content with sustained violence, explicit sexual material, or excessive profanity. Users under 18 will automatically be placed in this mode without opt-out, and the policy also applies to AI-generated content.

JD.com Inc.: JD.com Inc. (京东) is an e-commerce giant that recently announced a collaboration with GAC Group and CATL. This partnership focuses on launching a new vehicle during the "Double 11" shopping festival. JD.com's role will be to provide consumer insights and exclusive sales, without direct involvement in manufacturing. Test drives are planned for late October, with the official launch on November 9.

GAC Group: GAC Group (广汽集团) is collaborating with JD.com and CATL to launch a new vehicle. JD.com's role in this partnership is to provide consumer insights and manage exclusive sales for the vehicle, not direct manufacturing. Test drives are scheduled for late October, with an official launch in November.

CATL: CATL is partnering with JD.com and GAC Group to launch a new vehicle. CATL, a Chinese battery manufacturer, is one of the collaborators in this venture. The new vehicle will be unveiled during the "Double 11" shopping festival, with test drives beginning in late October and the official launch on November 9.

Walmart: Walmart recently announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate AI-powered shopping into its platform. This collaboration will enable customers to shop and complete instant checkouts directly through ChatGPT. Walmart describes this as "agentic commerce," where AI learns, plans, and anticipates user needs to enhance the shopping experience.

Wingtech Technology Co. Ltd.: Wingtech Technology Co. Ltd., a Chinese tech firm, plans to sue the Dutch government. This comes after the Netherlands froze the operations of Wingtech's semiconductor subsidiary, Nexperia, and stripped the company of its control.

Nexperia: Chinese tech firm Wingtech Technology Co. Ltd. plans to sue the Dutch government after its semiconductor subsidiary, Nexperia, had its operations frozen and control stripped.

Xiaomi Corp.: Xiaomi Corp. is currently under scrutiny following a fatal crash involving its SU7 electric sedan, which caught fire. This incident has caused the company's shares to drop significantly and marks the third fire-related event for Xiaomi's debut vehicle this year.

Apple Inc.: Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook livestreamed on the company's Douyin store to announce the new iPhone Air's release. Preorders for customers on the Chinese mainland begin October 17, and the phone goes on sale October 22. This new model is an eSIM-only device, which will soon be supported in mainland China.

China Mobile: China Mobile, in conjunction with China Telecom and China Unicom, has received regulatory approval for commercial trials of embedded SIM (eSIM) services for mobile phones. This development enables the launch of eSIM-only devices on the Chinese mainland.

China Telecom: China Telecom has received regulatory approval to begin commercial trials of embedded SIM (eSIM) services for mobile phones. This development, also extended to China Mobile and China Unicom, will allow for the launch of eSIM-only devices like Apple's new iPhone Air in mainland China.

China Unicom: China Unicom, along with China Mobile and China Telecom, received regulatory approval on October 13 for commercial trials of embedded SIM (eSIM) services for mobile phones. This development is significant as it allows for the launch of eSIM-only devices, such as Apple's new iPhone Air, on the Chinese mainland, which currently do not have a physical SIM card slot.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.: On October 13, JPMorgan Chase & Co. unveiled its 10-year, $1.5 trillion "Security and Resiliency Initiative." This plan aims to finance and invest in critical U.S. economic security industries, including supply chain and advanced manufacturing, defense and aerospace, energy, and frontier/strategic technologies like AI and cybersecurity. The bank intends to provide $1 trillion in client financing and make $10 billion in direct equity and venture capital investments.

ABB: ABB, an industrial robotics giant, announced on October 13 a partnership with Nvidia to develop gigawatt-scale, next-generation data centers. This collaboration will focus on innovating and deploying advanced power solutions to create efficient and scalable power delivery for future AI workloads.

Nvidia: ABB and Nvidia are partnering to develop gigawatt-scale, next-generation data centers. This collaboration will focus on innovating and deploying advanced power solutions to ensure efficient and scalable power delivery for future AI workloads.

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What Happened When

Oct. 13, 2025：: OpenAI and Broadcom announce a partnership to codevelop AI chips, and plans to deploy 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators.

Oct. 13, 2025：: Apple CEO Tim Cook appears in a livestream on Douyin, announcing the new iPhone Air.

Oct. 13, 2025：: Chinese carriers (China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom) announce regulatory approval for commercial trials of eSIM services.

Oct. 13, 2025：: JPMorgan Chase announces a $1.5 trillion, 10-year investment plan called the 'Security and Resiliency Initiative.'

Oct. 13, 2025：: ABB announces partnership with Nvidia to develop gigawatt-scale next-generation AI data centers.

Oct. 14, 2025：: Google announces a $15 billion investment plan to establish an AI hub in India over five years (2026–2030).

Oct. 14, 2025：: Instagram announces that content for teens will default to a standard guided by the PG-13 movie rating.

Oct. 14, 2025：: JD.com announces it will launch a new vehicle with GAC Group and CATL during the 'Double 11' festival; test drives scheduled for end of October.