New Delhi: Amid global fears of an AI bubble, Google CEO Sundar Pichai defended the massive spending around Artificial Intelligence, likening tech infrastructure being built to the historical expansion of railroads and highways, which became essential foundations for long-term economic value and growth.

Fielding questions on how CEOs can overcome boardroom scepticism regarding AI returns, Pichai urged a long-term view, calling the current era an ‘extraordinary’ and ‘transformational’ moment.

“I think we are investing to meet that moment. In some of the contexts Dennis (CEO of Google DeepMind) has spoken about, this is the industrial revolution, but 10 times faster and 10 times larger,” Pichai said at a media event held on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit.

Drawing parallels with foundational infrastructure bets such as the US railroad expansion and the National Highway System, the Google CEO said such leveraged investments historically unlocked massive growth and long-term value, and AI should be viewed through a similar lens.

“At Google, I think we’re fortunate that we’ve been focused on this technology for over a decade. And be it search, YouTube, the cloud, the emerging businesses like Waymo and Isomorphic Labs (both subsidiaries of Alphabet), I think they’re all getting better and growing based on this one technology underneath, so we can generate a return there,” he said.

Citing an example, he said, for ‘cloud’ alone, in the last year, the backlog has doubled year-on-year to USD 240 million, which reflects the potential for demand and potential returns.

“And so we are investing to meet that demand. And you know, that’s what makes this an exciting moment. So I think, the investment makes sense given the progress in the technology we are seeing, and the opportunities we see on top of it,” Pichai asserted.

The comment assumes significance as Alphabet expects 2026 capex to be about USD 175 billion to USD 185 billion; anything at the higher end of that range would make it more than double the company’s last year’s capex tab.

The tech industry is currently navigating a high-stakes debate where staggering capital expenditure, like Alphabet’s USD 185 billion commitment for this year, collides with intensifying fears of an ‘AI bubble’.