July 24 (Reuters) - India's HCLTech said on Friday it would invest 142.57 billion rupees ($1.48 billion) to set up its first AI data centre in the eastern state of Odisha in partnership with homegrown startup Sarvam AI.
The investment will include financial support from the Odisha government, the company said.
Last week, India's third-largest IT services exporter said it would foray into the data center business with plans to invest 35 billion rupees.
The AI boom has spurred a rush among companies to pour money into data centers, with India seen as a key market due to its large internet user base and lower power and operating costs.
The new project will utilise HCLTech's full-stack AI capabilities and Sarvam's foundation models to offer sector-specific AI applications to both government-owned and private companies, the firm said.
Larger rival TCS said last November that it would invest $2 billion to develop AI data centers in partnership with private equity firm TPG.
($1 = 96.5425 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Abhirami G in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
