HCLTech has signed two Memorandums of Understanding with the Government of Odisha to set up a Global Technology Centre and its first AI Data Centre in Bhubaneswar, both announced on July 24, 2026.
The AI Data Centre will come up in the upcoming Odisha Sovereign AI Park, in partnership with Sarvam and the state government, with a planned capital outlay of ₹14,257 crore that includes financial assistance from the Government of Odisha. The announcement follows HCLTech’s July 13, 2026 disclosure of its proposed entry into the full-stack AI market.
The company said the investment will support India’s sovereign AI play and local developer ecosystem by combining its full-stack AI capabilities with Sarvam’s foundation models. The tie-up is aimed at delivering sector-specific AI applications for private and public sector enterprises, alongside multilingual AI-based services for last-mile users.
The MoU for the data centre was signed in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi; Electronics and IT Minister Dr Mukesh Mahaling; HCLTech Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra; CEO and Managing Director C Vijayakumar; and Sarvam Co-Founder Pratyush Kumar.
“HCLTech has been a flagbearer of India’s technology industry,” said Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson, HCLTech, adding that the company strives to enable India’s sovereign AI ecosystem through focused investments and partnerships, in line with the Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.
C Vijayakumar, CEO and Managing Director, HCLTech, described the project as an important milestone in the company’s full-stack AI play, one that would help meet demand for sovereign AI solutions and unlock the scale of its partnership with Sarvam. Pratyush Kumar, Co-Founder, Sarvam, said the Odisha Sovereign AI Park would connect high-performance compute with Indian models and real-world applications.
The separate Global Technology Centre will house 5,000 people and is expected to begin operations by 2028, complementing the proposed AI Data Centre. The company said the investment will contribute to both direct and indirect employment while strengthening the local talent ecosystem, with a focus on next-generation skills, and that it plans to engage with local educational institutions and the state government through structured interventions.
“At HCLTech, through our New Vistas initiative, we are focused on expanding our presence across India to bring opportunities closer to where the talent is,” said Rahul Singh, COO, Corporate Functions, HCLTech, adding that Odisha offers a mix of quality infrastructure and a vibrant talent pool. Vishal Kumar Dev, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Odisha, welcomed the decision, saying HCLTech’s presence would further strengthen Bhubaneswar’s standing as one of India’s most promising technology hubs.
HCLTech employs more than 170,000 people across India, with technology campuses and centres in Noida, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Lucknow, Nagpur, Madurai, Vijayawada, and GIFT City. Globally, the company has a workforce of over 223,000 across 60 countries, with consolidated revenues of $14.8 billion for the 12 months ending June 2026.
HCLTech noted that India’s data centre ecosystem is on a rapid growth trajectory, driven by a vibrant digital economy, data localisation requirements, and the infrastructure needs of GPU deployments for AI training and inference workloads. The twin Bhubaneswar projects also extend a wider push by Indian IT majors to build delivery capacity beyond established metros.
