Lokesh woos Meta, Scale AI, JERA, Zerodha
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh has sharpened its pitch at the World Economic Forum annual meeting for attracting tech majors’ investments in the state’s line-up of data, AI, and green energy projects. Information Technology and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh held a series of targeted meetings with senior executives from Meta, Scale AI, JERA, and Zerodha, seeking commitments that could anchor data infrastructure, artificial intelligence governance, renewable energy value chains, and fintech innovation in the state.
In discussions with Meta vice president Kelvin Martin, Lokesh proposed development of scalable data centre capacity in Visakhapatnam, positioning the coastal city as a long-term node within Meta’s global infrastructure network. He also sought partnership with the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH) to establish a Centre of Excellence for Reality Labs, aimed at mentoring startups working on immersive technologies, AI, and next-generation digital products. Lokesh pitched for deeper collaboration on WhatsApp-based digital governance, including structured use cases for grievance redressal and official state communications. Martin said the proposals would be taken up internally with Meta’s senior leadership.
Lokesh later met Trevor Thompson, Global Managing Director of Scale AI, pressing for the creation of an AI Safety, Evaluation, and Governance Lab at RTIH. The proposal included deployment of Scale AI’s SEAL (Safety, Evaluations, and Alignment Lab) platform for large language model benchmarking, red-teaming, and governance of public datasets and government AI applications. Andhra Pradesh also sought a Scale AI Centre of Excellence in Visakhapatnam, alongside cooperation on applied AI delivery, advanced talent development, academic linkages, and AI literacy programmes spanning geospatial AI and computer vision.
Clean energy featured prominently in Lokesh’s meeting with Yukio Kani, Global CEO and chair of Japanese utility major JERA. Lokesh invited JERA to invest in green ammonia production near Mulapeta, Krishnapatnam, and Kakinada ports, targeting exports to Japan and Asian markets. He also proposed solar-wind hybrid projects in Rayalaseema, integrated clean-energy platforms in port-led industrial nodes, and pilot projects on ammonia co-firing in thermal plants with partners such as AP Genco and NTPC. Kani said Japan depended on clean-energy imports and confirmed JERA’s interest in green hydrogen, green ammonia, renewables, and LNG-based grid-balancing solutions.
In a separate engagement, Lokesh met Zerodha founder Nikhil Kamath, urging the online discount stockbroker to set up a technology development centre in Visakhapatnam covering platform engineering, trading systems, data analytics, and fintech R&D.
He also proposed Zerodha as a lead mentor at RTIH and sought collaboration on a statewide financial literacy programme from school to college level. Kamath said the proposals would be considered.
