Google CEO Sundar Pichai has drawn a hypothetical timeline between his time as a student traveling on the Coromandel Express, and $15 billion in infrastructure investment in India including an AI hub in Visakhapatnam, positioning India not just as an AI market but as a co-architect of infrastructure, science and the future of the workforce. In his keynote address at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Pichai pointed to Google’s latest initiatives including the new international subsea cable as part of the America-India Connect Subsea Cable, as well as the Google DeepMind partnership to promote AI-powered science and education in the country.
“Progress shows what is possible when humanity dreams big, and no technology has made me dream bigger than AI,” Pichai said in his keynote address. “It is the biggest platform shift in my lifetime. We are on the cusp of hyper-progress and new discoveries that can help emerging economies cross old divides.” But that came with a warning, too. “This outcome is neither guaranteed nor automatic,” he says. “To build artificial intelligence that is truly beneficial for everyone, we must pursue it boldly, approach it responsibly, and work through this critical moment together.” Pichai pointed to Sir Demis Hassabis’ efforts at Google DeepMind to develop AlphaFold 4, an advanced artificial intelligence system to quickly and accurately predict protein structures. “Not only did this achievement win a Nobel Prize, but it brought together decades of research into a database that is now open to the world,” Pichai noted.
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Official figures indicate that more than 30 million researchers in more than 190 countries are using it to develop malaria vaccines, combat antibiotic resistance, and much more. Pichai wants to continue asking scientific staff around the world to ask bold questions, from cataloging DNA disease markers to building artificial intelligence agents that serve as true partners in the scientific method. “We must be bold in tackling problems in areas that lack access to technology,” he says in the mission.
Pichai noted that Google worked with farmers to protect their livelihoods in the monsoon season last year, by sending forecasts to one million farmers, and drawing insights from their NeuralGCM model – this focuses on fast and accurate climate modeling and forecasting. He also pointed to efforts in El Salvador with the government to provide diagnosis and treatment using artificial intelligence to thousands of citizens who do not have access to a doctor.
“We cannot allow the digital divide to become an AI divide. This means investing in computing infrastructure and connectivity. I mentioned our investment in Vizag, and we have other investments in Thailand, Malaysia and others,” warns Pichai. It once again underscores the importance of the America-India Connect Subsea Cable, along with a broader network of subsea cables for global connectivity. “Responsibility also means overcoming profound economic difficulties,” he points out.
Pichai called on companies of all sizes to think about ways to bring artificial intelligence into public services and thus improve the lives of citizens. “We have an opportunity to improve lives on the scale of one generation,” he calls it.
