We are an Enabler of India’s Sovereign AI Ecosystem: Roshni Nadar Malhotra

HCLTech has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Odisha to set up a world-class Global Technology Center in Bhubaneswar to innovate and deliver AI-led digital solutions to global enterprises. The company is also setting-up its first AI Data Center in the upcoming Odisha Sovereign AI Park.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson, HCLTech said, “HCLTech has been a flagbearer of India’s technology industry. In line with the Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat vision, we strive to be an enabler of India’s sovereign AI ecosystem with differentiated offerings across the value chain through focused investments and partnerships.”

The Technology Center will complement HCLTech’s proposed AI Data Center in the upcoming Odisha Sovereign AI Park. The Technology Center will house 5,000 people and is expected to start operations by 2028. The AI Data Center will be established in partnership with Sarvam and the Government of Odisha. The planned capital outlay for the project will be INR 14,257 crores,including financial assistance from the Government of Odisha.

“This is an important milestone in our full-stack AI play and will enable us to serve the large demand for sovereign AI solutions and unlock the scale of our strategic partnership with Sarvam. Odisha offers a progressive policy environment backed by excellent infrastructure,” added C Vijayakumar, CEO & MD, HCLTech.

This investment will boost India’s sovereign AI play and local developer ecosystem by leveraging HCLTech’s full-stack AI capabilities and Sarvam’s foundation models to offer sector-specific AI applications to private and public sector enterprises and address the government’s sovereignty needs.It will also contribute to delivery of multi-lingual AI based services to the last mile.

Global tech centers will not only contribute to direct and indirect employment but also boost the local talent ecosystem with focus on next-generation skills. Towards this, HCLTech plans to engage deeply with local educational institutions and the government through structured interventions.

Rahul Singh, COO, corporate functions, HCLTech said, “We are focused on expanding our presence across India to bring opportunities closer to where the talent is. Odisha offers a great mix of quality infrastructure and vibrant talent pool, and we look forward to developing Bhubaneshwar as one of our key global innovation and delivery hubs.”

The company’s presence will further embellish Bhubaneshwar’s status as one of India’s most promising technology hubs. In India, HCLTech employs 170,000-plus people across its technology campuses and centers in Noida, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, Nagpur, Madurai, Vijayawada and GIFT City. The Odisha Sovereign AI Park will connect high-performance compute with Indian models and real-world applications.

Recently, HCLTech announced the launch of its Global Technology Center in GIFT City, Gujarat. The center will deliver AI-led solutions to HCLTech’s global clients in the financial services industry. It will also serve as a hub for developing next-generation technology solutions and talent development.

HCLTech also signed Memoranda of Understanding with Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar and Gujarat Technological University (GTU). The partnerships will focus on research in AI for financial services, related software and skills development, providing students and faculty with hands-on industry exposure and opportunities to contribute to global technology and digital transformation initiatives.

India is among the fastest growing technology markets globally and a growth market for HCLTech. The country’s data center ecosystem is on a rapid growth trajectory, driven by strong demand from a vibrant digital economy, data localization and critical infrastructure needs to support GPU deployments for AI training and inference workloads.