Microsoft will invest $3 billion to expand its artificial intelligence and cloud Azure service capabilities in India, and plans to upskill an additional 10 million employees in the country with AI, the software giant's top official said. The company's chief executive officer (CEO) made the announcement on Tuesday.
“The investments in infrastructure and skills that we are announcing today reaffirm our commitment to making India AI-first and will enable people and organizations across the country to engage broadly,” Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangalore. It will help ensure that they receive the benefits.” “India is rapidly becoming a leader in AI innovation, opening new opportunities across the country.”
The software giant, one of India's top cloud and AI providers, operates three data center regions in India and plans to bring its fourth data center region online next year, the company said. said. The $3 billion investment will go towards developing a scalable AI computing ecosystem to serve India's AI startups and research community.
Microsoft is already seeing many customers in the South Asian market leverage the company's latest technology to streamline their businesses, Nadella said. Indian customers include Infosys, Air India, Meesho, Tech Mahindra, Federal Bank, Apollo, MakeMyTrip, HCL Tech, Manipal, Icertis, and InMobi. IT company Persistent uses Microsoft 365 Copilot's Contract Assist to reduce negotiation time by 70%, Nadella said.
It was really nice to meet you, @satyanadella! We are pleased to learn about Microsoft's ambitious expansion and investment plans in India. It was also great to discuss different aspects of technology, innovation, and AI in our meetings. https://t.co/ArK8DJYBhK
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 6, 2025
India is a key overseas market for US tech giants, which have spent tens of billions of dollars over the past two decades building and expanding operations in the world's most populous country, serving hundreds of millions of users. We have been working hard to attract companies that provide this service.
Competition among hyperscalers has increased in recent quarters as Microsoft aggressively expands its AI offerings. In 2023, Amazon announced plans to invest $12.7 billion in its India operations by 2030.
India is also one of the world's largest markets for developers. More than 17 million of them in India use Microsoft's Github. Nadella said the company will train 10 million people in India by 2030.
This is a developing story. More to come…