Andhra Pradesh is preparing to position itself at the forefront of India’s artificial intelligence revolution, IT and Education Minister Nara Lokesh declared during his address at the Bay Area Council meeting held in Silicon Valley. Lokesh, who is on an official tour of the United States, spoke to global investors and technology leaders, outlining Andhra Pradesh’s ambitious economic roadmap and its plans to become a national leader in AI-driven development.

Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh is one of India’s youngest and most dynamic states, currently operating as a 180-billion-dollar economy. The government’s long-term objective, he noted, is to transform the state into a 2.4-trillion-dollar economy. 

Achieving this will require sustained annual growth of 15 percent, something the government aims to drive through a cluster-based industrial strategy.

Under this approach, the state has identified nearly 20 high-potential sectors for targeted, ecosystem-driven development. Lokesh highlighted that Andhra Pradesh already contributes 9 percent to Kia’s global production and manufactures 50 percent of all air-conditioners produced in India. “Our goal is to raise this to 70 percent in the next 24 months,” he said.

Minister Lokesh stated that the government is determined to secure either the No. 1 or No. 2 position for AP across key industrial and tech sectors. He outlined three major reasons global companies should invest in the state: stable and visionary leadership, unmatched speed of business execution, and a favourable political environment.

He emphasised that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu brings proven administrative experience and long-term vision. Half of AP’s MLAs are first-time legislators, and 17 of 25 ministers are first-timers, reflecting a government driven by fresh energy and innovation.

Highlighting Andhra Pradesh's execution-focused governance model, Lokesh said the state’s signature advantage is its "speed of doing business." Once a company signs an MoU with the government, he said, “It is no longer your project, it becomes our project.” The government tracks every MoU meticulously and has created dedicated WhatsApp groups for high-value investments, in which Lokesh himself monitors progress. “I am part of nearly 30 such groups,” he said.

The minister announced that the foundation stone for Google’s data centre in Visakhapatnam will be laid in March next year, following 13 months of negotiations. A groundbreaking ceremony for a new Cognizant facility will take place on the 12th of this month. He also cited the rapid progress of the country’s largest steel plant project, developed by Aditya Mittal, which moved from the first Zoom call to ground-breaking in just 16 months.

On the AI front, Lokesh said that investments from Google are just the beginning. He held a two-hour strategic discussion with Google leadership, outlining the state’s vision for widespread AI literacy and integration. “Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s dream is for every household in Andhra Pradesh to have at least one AI specialist,” Lokesh said. The state aims to apply AI across education, healthcare, and family-level use cases.

As part of this push, Andhra Pradesh is conducting the country’s first AI-powered skills census using conversational AI, which will assess abilities ranging from air-conditioner repair technicians to AI engineers. “Our goal is to place Andhra Pradesh at the very front of India’s AI revolution,” Lokesh affirmed.