AI innovation
The engineering wing of the State’s IT department with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and Boston Consulting Group (US) amongst others launched the Telangana Data Exchange Platform (TGDeX) on 2 July 2025. This is a platform to support AI innovation by providing access to clean datasets, subsidised computer infrastructure, and institutional pathways to local start-ups and research institutions for analysis or for building new AI solutions.
With the aim of democratizing AI development, particularly with respect to citizen centric issues such as health, agriculture, urban mobility and governance across the State, over 500 pre-built algorithmic models and datasets are already available free of cost.
As of 5 August 2025, the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (US) has opened a new technology facility in Hyderabad, Telangana. Diogo Rau, executive vice president and chief information and digital officer at Eli Lilly noted that, top talent in AI, automation, cloud computing, and software product engineering in Hyderabad would be used to address global health challenges with a focus on “the discovery and delivery of innovative medicines.”
Data centre infrastructure
Hand in hand with the push for AI development, Telangana is witnessing a surge in data centre investments. ST Telemedia Global Data Centers (Singapore) has signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an AI-ready data centre campus with a targeted capacity of up to 100 MW for $39 million USD, while Amazon Web Services (US) announced a $5.4 billion USD investment to build hyperscale facilities in the State, which includes a prior commitment of $1 billion for three data centres, and an additional $4.4 billion by 2030 for further cloud infrastructure development.
Blackstone Lumina (US), Tillman Global Holdings (US), and Ursa Clusters (US) have each signed a memorandum of understanding to build data centres to cater to hyperscale clients. These developments, expected to feature advanced cooling technologies, are anticipated to support AI workloads and cloud services across India. According to Mordor Intelligence, “The Hyderabad data centre installed base market size is expected to grow from 65.50 MW in 2025 to 196.76 MW by 2031, at a compound annual growth rate of 20.12% during the forecast period (2025-2031).”
Global power investment and corporate presence
As of 8 August 2025, the new manufacturing facility of Toshiba Transmission and Distribution Systems (Japan), in Rudraram, Telangana, including a CRGO Core Processing Centre and a Surge Arrester Line was inaugurated. This JPY 10 billion investment will increase power transformer production capacity from 30,000 MVA to 42,000 MVA annually.Looking forward
Taken together, the economic growth indicators are clear: powerhouse Indian states’ such as Telangana are at the forefront of AI innovation. The correct infrastructure, including power capability and data centre capacity are being put in place to support ambition. It is evident that such a backdrop will present exciting AI opportunities with respect to business, technology and healthcare, both for businesses in India, and those around the world looking to expand into new and dynamic markets.
- Key areas in which DWF can add value include:
facilitating cross-border trade; - Structuring agreements with respect to AI development and licensing, agency and distribution and joint ventures;
- Advising on rights in data and intellectual property ownership;
- Supporting with corporate and funding agreements; and
- Project management and delivery of option agreements, agreements for leases, development agreements, deeds of easement and substation leases.
DWF is a leading legal adviser to Indian and India-focussed companies, financial institutions and high net worth individuals and families. Our India Group, consisting of over 110 lawyers from 15 countries, 16 practice areas and 9 sector groups, is one of the largest India groups of any international law firm located outside India. With decades of extensive expertise in guiding Indian clients in respect of outbound legal work, our team of experts and specialists empower both India-focused and India-based clients to achieve their strategic objectives. If you have queries on any of the issues covered in this article please contact one of our experts.
We would like to thank Jagdeep Lall, Nina Basra, Bander Almutani, Filip Urbaniak, Vaughn Harrison and Xavier Fabrega for their contributions to this article.
