Bhubaneswar: Odisha Government has formalized a landmark tech partnership with IT giant HCLTech and indigenous artificial intelligence startup Sarvam AI, paving the way to establish the state as India’s next major AI hub.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Shri Vishal Kumar Dev, Additional Chief Secretary of the Electronics and Information Technology Department, on behalf of the Government of Odisha.
The ceremony took place in the presence of Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi, who expressed great enthusiasm over the initiative, and Dr. Mukesh Mahaling, Minister for Electronics and IT.
Under this agreement, HCLTech and Sarvam AI will build their first AI Data Center in Bhubaneswar within the upcoming Odisha Sovereign AI Park. The project represents a total capital outlay of 14,257 crore rupees, approximately 1.48 billion US dollars.
This massive undertaking closely follows HCLTech acquiring a 10.46 percent strategic stake in Sarvam AI just last month. Additionally, HCLTech will build a dedicated Global Technology Center that is expected to create over 5,000 direct, high-skilled jobs for the region by 2028.
Reflecting on the choice of location, HCLTech Chairperson Ms. Roshni Nadar Malhotra highlighted that when looking for a site for their AI Data Centre, Odisha stood out due to its rich pool of talent, technical skills, and engineering colleges.
The initiative also carries a deep local connection. Sarvam AI Co-founder and CEO Dr. Pratyush Kumar is an Odia native. A prominent computer scientist who holds a PhD from ETH Zurich and previously co-founded AI4Bharat at IIT Madras, Dr. Kumar is now helping drive this major technological homecoming to build localized, sovereign AI infrastructure right from his home state.