New Delhi, February 19 Amid global concerns about an AI bubble, Google CEO Sundar Pichai defended the massive investment in Artificial Intelligence, comparing the technology infrastructure being built to the historical expansion of railroads and highways, which became essential foundations for long-term economic value and growth.
Responding to questions on how CEOs can overcome boardroom skepticism regarding the returns on AI investments, Pichai urged a long-term perspective, calling the current era an 'extraordinary' and 'transformational' moment.
"I believe we are investing to meet that moment. In some contexts, Dennis (CEO of Google DeepMind) has spoken about this as the industrial revolution, but 10 times faster and 10 times larger," Pichai said at a media event held on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit on Wednesday.
Drawing parallels with foundational infrastructure investments such as the US railroad expansion and the National Highway System, the Google CEO said such leveraged investments historically unlocked massive growth and long-term value, and AI should be viewed through a similar lens.
"At Google, I believe we are fortunate that we have been focused on this technology for over a decade. And whether it's search, YouTube, the cloud, or emerging businesses like Waymo and Isomorphic Labs (both subsidiaries of Alphabet), I think they are all getting better and growing based on this one technology, so we can generate returns there," he said.
Citing an example, he said, for 'cloud' alone, in the last year, the backlog has doubled year-on-year to USD 240 million, which reflects the potential for demand and potential returns.
"And so we are investing to meet that demand. And you know, that's what makes this an exciting moment. So I think, the investment makes sense given the progress in the technology we are seeing, and the opportunities we see on top of it," Pichai asserted.
This comment assumes significance as Alphabet expects capital expenditure (capex) to be about USD 175 billion to USD 185 billion in 2026; anything at the higher end of that range would make it more than double the company's last year's capex.
The tech industry is currently navigating a high-stakes debate where staggering capital expenditure, like Alphabet's USD 185 billion commitment for this year, collides with intensifying fears of an 'AI bubble'.
Pichai, who is currently in India to attend the India AI Impact Summit, announced a new subsea cable initiative to boost AI connectivity between India, the US, and other locations, and outlined a slew of partnerships around scaling AI and workforce readiness.
He said the recently announced USD 15-billion AI hub at Vizag in Andhra Pradesh will house a gigawatt-scale compute facility and an international subsea cable gateway.
Also, Google DeepMind has announced a new partnership with the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) to provide access to frontier AI for Science models such as AlphaGenome, AI Co-scientist, and Earth AI, alongside hackathons, mentorship, and research enablement.
