US-based Fortune 500 company and coffee chain Starbucks has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Tamil Nadu to set up its Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Chennai.
This will be the company’s first GCC in India and will support its existing tech centres in Seattle and Nashville.
The centre is expected to provide ‘high-paying’ employment opportunities to 800 technology professionals, a statement from the Tamil Nadu Government said.
The centre will operate independently to the coffee chain’s retail stores in India which has been established as a joint venture alongside Tata Consumer Products.
The MoU was signed in the presence of C Joseph Vijay, Chief Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu alongside Anand Varadarajan, Chief Technology Officer of Starbucks and S. Keerthana, Minister for Industries, Government of Tamil Nadu.
Anand Varadarajan, Chief Technology Officer of Starbucks Coffee Company said that Chennai’s large pool of skilled technology professionals alongside the Tamil Nadu Government’s strong infrastructure and incentives would help the company find new solutions and grow its business. Interestingly, Varadarajan is an alumnus of IIT-Madras.
Chief Minister Vijay said that a globally renowned company like Starbucks placing confidence in Tamil Nadu was a testament to the capabilities of the State’s youth.
The MoU with Starbucks follows another US company Walgreens inking an MoU with the State Government last week, to set up its GCC here.
As per the most recent estimates of Nasscom-Zinnov GCC Landscape report, Chennai is home to 405+ GCC units. Its Southern peers Hyderabad and Bengaluru rank higher when it comes to number of GCCs.
Published on September 21, 2026
