Google announces new AI investments in India across healthcare, startups, research, and clean energy
Article by: Manish Methani
Last Updated: December 22, 2025 at 10:27am IST
Google has announced a major push to support India’s AI growth, focusing on healthcare, scientific research, startups, developers, and sustainable infrastructure. The announcement was made during Google’s “Lab to Impact” event in India, aligned with the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
The company said its goal is to move AI from research labs to real-world impact, while supporting India’s ambition to become a global AI leader.
AI for healthcare and Digital Public Infrastructure
Google announced $400,000 in funding to support the development of India-specific healthcare AI models using its MedGemma technology.
-
Ajna Lens will work with AIIMS to build AI models for dermatology and OPD triaging
-
Researchers at IISc will explore broader clinical use cases
-
These models will be added to India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) so others can build on them
Google is also working with the National Health Authority (NHA) to:
-
Convert unstructured medical records into FHIR, a global digital health standard
-
Reduce paperwork for hospitals and improve patient understanding of health data
-
Support better data-driven health policy decisions
In addition, over 4 lakh registered health facilities will be listed on Google Search and Maps, making it easier for people to find verified hospitals and clinics.
Big funding boost for India’s AI research ecosystem
Through Google.org, the company announced $8 million in funding for four government-backed AI Centres of Excellence:
-
IISc Bengaluru (TANUH): AI for non-communicable diseases
-
IIT Kanpur (Airawat): AI for urban governance
-
IIT Madras: AI for education outcomes
-
IIT Ropar (ANNAM.AI): AI for agriculture and farmers
Google also announced a $2 million grant to set up an Indic Language AI Research Hub at IIT Bombay, aimed at building AI systems that support India’s linguistic diversity.
Support for Indian startups and developers
Google said Indian startups are rapidly adopting its open-source Gemma AI models, especially for Indic language use cases.
-
Gnani.AI and CoRover.AI received $50,000 each to expand voice AI and e-governance solutions
-
IIT Bombay received funding to build an India-centric health and genetics database
To further support developers, Google has uploaded all 22 Gemma models to AIKosh, the India AI Mission’s open AI platform, making it easier for Indian teams to build and deploy local AI solutions.
AI tools for public health and agriculture
Google highlighted real-world AI deployments already showing impact:
-
Khushi Baby, using Google’s Open Health Stack, conducted 35 million TB screenings in Rajasthan
-
AI tools could help ASHA workers increase productivity and enable 98 million additional rural patient visits annually
-
AI-assisted healthcare could save India nearly ₹390 billion per year in out-of-pocket medical expenses
Google is funding Wadhwani AI with:
-
$2.5 million for HealthVaani, an AI assistant for frontline health workers
-
$2 million for Garuda, an Indian-language AI model for agriculture, powering the AgriVaani app for farmers
Clean energy to support AI growth
To address AI’s growing energy needs, Google announced a partnership with ReNew Energy to support a 150 MW solar project in Rajasthan.
This builds on earlier renewable energy deals with Adani Group and CleanMax, adding a total of 186 MW to India’s clean energy grid.
Google said sustainable energy is critical to ensuring AI growth does not come at the cost of the environment.
Why this matters
Google’s announcements signal a shift from AI experimentation to large-scale deployment in India. By combining open models, public infrastructure, startup support, and clean energy, the company aims to help India build practical, scalable, and inclusive AI systems.
For developers, founders, and enterprises, this means more open AI tools, stronger public datasets, real-world use cases, and long-term opportunities to build AI solutions designed for India.
