New Delhi, Oct. 29 -- Megastructures-to-microchips conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has announced the groundbreaking of a 52 MW green data centre in Chennai, designed to support high-density AI workloads.
The facility will feature direct-to-chip liquid cooling technology, alongside renewable energy integration and energy-efficient systems. It will form part of the company's planned gigawatt-scale Artificial Intelligence (AI) Factory campus in Chennai, which already hosts an operational 30 MW facility with advanced AI compute clusters.
The nearly nine-decade-old, USD 32-billion Indian multinational -- with businesses spanning EPC projects, hi-tech manufacturing, products and services -- is reimagining its future through emerging technologies, embedding AI, digital intelligence and advanced engineering across its traditional businesses while building new growth engines in AI, data centres, semiconductors and advanced electronics.
L&T's tryst with tech
For decades, L&T has been synonymous with engineering excellence. From building iconic infrastructure to manufacturing mission-critical defence and aerospace systems, the company has shaped India's growth story like few others. Today, with an order book of over Rs. 8.53 lakh crore, L&T stands in a league of its own.
Yet, the company's biggest transformation isn't reflected merely in the scale of its projects. It lies in how those projects are conceived, designed, executed and managed. L&T is no longer positioning itself simply as India's largest engineering and construction company. It is steadily evolving into a technology-led solutions provider, where engineering is amplified by AI, digital platforms, automation and data-driven decision-making. And the guiding force behind this metamorphosis is none else than S N Subrahmanyan (SNS), the Chairman & Managing Director, who has a clear vision of where L&T is headed. Chairing the Group Tech Council, SNS is clearly scripting a new chapter for L&T and is all set to create his own legacy in L&T's rich and storied history.
As early as 2016, the company embarked on an ambitious digital acceleration programme, digitising manual processes, automating manufacturing through Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and building connected project sites powered by IoT devices and digital sensors. These early investments proved invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote monitoring and digital collaboration became essential rather than optional.
Instead of treating technology as a support function, L&T made it central to its operating model, a decision that has fundamentally altered how the organisation delivers value.
Today, digitalisation has made project execution faster, safer, cleaner, more accurate and more sustainable, while simultaneously improving cost efficiencies and reducing environmental impact.
Engineering meets intelligence
The new L&T is distinguished not just by engineering prowess, but by digital intelligence embedded across its businesses.
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Cloud Computing, Big Data Analytics, drones, LiDAR, BIM, IoT, RFID, GPS, advanced sensors, robotics and 3D printing are now integral to the company's operations rather than experimental technologies.
More than 17,000 assets across projects and manufacturing facilities are digitally connected through a central IoT platform, generating real-time operational intelligence.
L&T has also developed more than 100 proprietary algorithms, with dozens already deployed across operations, while the vast amounts of data generated daily are being harvested to create Small Language Models tailored specifically to optimise asset utilisation, workforce deployment and project planning.
The next frontier is already underway.
Generative AI is being deployed across the entire project lifecycle - from tendering and contract management to engineering design, construction, operations and maintenance. Rather than replacing engineering expertise, AI serves as a powerful decision-support system operating within clearly defined governance frameworks.
The result is a business environment where engineering decisions are increasingly informed by data, predictive analytics and intelligent automation.
Technology that builds the physical world
Perhaps nowhere is this transformation more visible than on L&T's project sites.
Drone-based photogrammetry and LiDAR are improving planning precision on complex infrastructure projects such as the Surya Water Supply Project's tunnel beneath the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra and the Parwati Micro Lift Irrigation Project in Madhya Pradesh.
Digital twins are compressing design, simulation and testing timelines while enhancing safety and quality.
Advanced RFID systems ensured meticulous material tracking during the construction of the Ayodhya Ram Temple, while AI-enabled image analytics monitor material movement, worker productivity and training requirements across project sites.
L&T also demonstrated its engineering innovation by constructing India's first 3D concrete-printed post office in Bengaluru in just 45 days, a project that showcased how digital technologies can redefine construction speed and precision.
A 24x7 central command centre, the 'Central Eye' now provides management with real-time visibility across the L&T universe, enabling faster, data-driven decisions through a single digital dashboard. CMD's office has a direct access to this apparatus.
From earth to space
The company's efforts towards building indigenous technologies have enabled it make forays in the areas of space, defence and other futuristic technologies.
For over five decades, L&T has been a trusted technology partner to ISRO, contributing critical systems to India's most ambitious space missions. Its Precision Engineering and Systems business played pivotal roles in Chandrayaan-3's successful lunar landing and the Aditya-L1 solar mission by manufacturing mission-critical launch hardware, radars, antennae and tracking systems. L&T teams also supported systems integration at Sriharikota.
The company is now deeply involved in India's first human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan, further underscoring its capability to deliver advanced technology solutions in mission-critical sectors.
Even on earth, because of its technological prowess, L&T has been included as a key partner from India in the multi-country futuristic ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project in France that aims to create unlimited, clean energy through fusion technology. L&T's role there is to leverage cutting-edge technology towards manufacturing critical components.
In India, L&T has won a major contract from India's Department of Atomic Energy to construct the upcoming LIGO-India observatory in Hingoli, Maharashtra. LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) is a massive international physics facility that detects gravitational waves and the ripples in space-time caused by distant cosmic events like colliding black holes.
On the defence front, the company has already established its technology prowess by manufacturing multi-terrain battle tanks and marine vehicles (both surface and under-water).
Building an AI-first enterprise
Recognising how AI is reshaping industries around the world, L&T has institutionalised AI through L&T Cognitive Services (L&TCS), an enterprise-wide AI platform that integrates predictive and prescriptive analytics across businesses. The platform enhances quality, safety, inventory management, manpower optimisation, cost efficiency and operational performance while accelerating innovation.
Similarly, the establishment of Digital Energy Solutions (DES) within its Power Transmission & Distribution business reflects L&T's transition from an EPC contractor to a provider of digital infrastructure solutions. DES combines proprietary software, advanced simulation tools and consulting expertise to help utilities build resilient, intelligent and future-ready power systems across India, West Asia and the United States.
Supporting this digital ecosystem is a dedicated IT & Cybersecurity Council that ensures robust governance and data protection across the organisation.
India needs to be ready for the AI era and L&T, synonymous with the building of physical infrastructure, is taking the big leap towards developing expertise on building the digital infrastructure for that under the direct supervision of SNS.
Shaping businesses for a digital future
L&T's technological transformation is not limited to modernising its existing businesses. The productivity and efficiency gains realised from the tools developed in-house are now being used to create new offerings for clients and stakeholders across industries. The ones that have started operations are:Vyoma.ai is building next-generation AI-ready data centres and sovereign cloud infrastructure through a strategic partnership with NVIDIA, positioning India for the age of AI.L&T Semiconductor Technologies is strengthening India's semiconductor ecosystem through indigenous chip design capabilities and the acquisition of advanced power semiconductor assets from Japan.L&T GreenTech is supporting India's National Green Hydrogen Mission by pioneering indigenous manufacture of alkaline electrolysers, thus ushering in an era of industry-scale adoption of green hydrogen and its derivatives.L&T Electronics Products & Systems has been formed as a dedicated business segment for creating IP-driven, design-led electronic product platforms to support growth across energy, mobility, industrial automation, electronics manufacturing and strategic electronics.SuFin has emerged as a comprehensive B2B digital marketplace connecting MSMEs (involved in construction and industrial products) with solutions pertaining to procurement, logistics, financing and supply-chain.L&T EduTech is addressing India's skills gap through technology-enabled learning, having already enrolled over 400,000 learners while launching specialised programmes in emerging technologies, including prompt engineering and electric mobility.
All these are conscious moves to stay ahead of the curve. While L&T Group, under its umbrella, has two listed pureplay technology companies in LTM and LTTS which specialise in ITeS (IT-enabled Services) and ER&D (Engineering Research & Development) respectively, it also has another listed company that specialises in financial services - L&T Finance (LTF).
LTF is essentially a technology-driven NBFC (with a domestic 'AAA' rating and a 98% retailised loan book) serving rural and urban markets. LTF's proprietary AI-driven three-dimensional digital credit engine, 'Project Cyclops,' is transforming lending decisions through data-driven credit assessment, while 'Project Nostradamus' is building real-time AI-enabled cross-sell opportunities, risk mitigation and portfolio management capabilities by leveraging macro parameters and alternate data.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate that technology is no longer adjacent to L&T's business - It is becoming the business itself.
That strategic boldness helped the company in redefining what an engineering enterprise can be. Engineering remains the foundation of L&T. Technology is now the multiplier.
Whether through AI-enabled engineering, digital twins, connected construction sites, advanced manufacturing, space technologies, sovereign AI infrastructure, semiconductor design or digital marketplaces, L&T has consistently chosen to leap ahead of industry trends rather than responding to them.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.