HCLTech is set to build its first AI-optimised data centre in India in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, with an investment of Rs 142.57 billion. The project, approved by the Odisha State Level Single Window Clearance Authority, is expected to generate 6,000 high-skilled jobs and become a hub for upskilling and workforce transformation in the region.
The IT major will partner with a homegrown AI startup to develop the facility. Alongside the data centre, HCLTech will also establish a Global Delivery Centre in Bhubaneswar. The combined infrastructure aims to anchor Odisha’s shift from a resource-based economy to a technology and AI-led ecosystem.
Company executives said the centre will focus not just on infrastructure but on talent. HCLTech plans to roll out large-scale upskilling programmes in AI, cloud, data engineering and cybersecurity for local graduates and professionals. The goal is to build a pipeline of job-ready talent to support sovereign AI workloads for both government and enterprise clients.
HCLTech noted that this investment will create meaningful employment and strengthen digital skills in Odisha. The facility will leverage HCLTech’s full-stack AI and cloud capabilities with the partner startup AI’s India-centric foundation models to deliver domain-specific solutions.
The Odisha government positioned the project as central to its digital strategy. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and HCLTech Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra are expected at the MoU signing.
The approval comes as HCLTech also announced a Rs 3,500 crore outlay for a new data centre business. In the same SLSWCA meeting, 22 other projects worth Rs 4,573.87 crore were cleared, projected to create 22,873 more jobs across sectors.
