On Saturday, the Tamil Nadu government announced it had signed an MoU with Google to establish the ‘Tamil Nadu AI Labs’ in Chennai.

The MoU was signed during Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin’s 17-day visit to the US to attract new investments.

Industries Minister Dr TRB Rajaa announced on X that the initiative, named ‘Chenn.ai,’ aims to train 2 million youth in AI through the Naan Mudhalvan program, collaborate with startups, and support MSMEs and the rural economy, preparing the youth for future workforce needs.

On the first day of the CM’s US visit, six MoUs were signed, securing Rs. 900 crore in investments and creating over 4,000 high-quality jobs for Tamil Nadu.

These investments include Nokia’s R&D centre in Siruseri, PayPal’s expansion of its AI and emerging tech centre in Chennai, semiconductor innovations with Microchip and Yield Engineering Systems in Coimbatore, an advanced AI tech centre with Applied Materials, and Infinx’s tech centre in Madurai.

Rajaa noted that there were intriguing meetings and more exciting developments ahead for Tamil Nadu.

Shortly before announcing the Tamil Nadu AI Labs investment, CM Stalin shared pictures from his visit to Apple, Google, and Microsoft offices in San Francisco on X, highlighting discussions on opportunities and partnerships. He expressed his commitment to strengthening these ties and positioning Tamil Nadu as a leading growth engine in Asia.