Microsoft has announced plans to invest $3 billion to enhance its artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services infrastructure in India.
The company, which has operated in India for over 20 years, also aims to train an additional 10 million individuals in AI, CEO Satya Nadella revealed during an event in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
“These investments in infrastructure and skilling highlight our commitment to making India an AI-first nation. They will ensure widespread benefits for individuals and organizations across the country,” Nadella stated, adding that the adoption of AI in India is particularly impressive.
India remains a crucial market for U.S. tech firms, which have invested billions to expand their operations in the region and tap into businesses catering to millions of users. The competition has heated up recently, with Microsoft enhancing its offerings with AI capabilities. Meanwhile, Amazon announced in 2023 that it would invest $12.7 billion in India by 2030.
Microsoft, a leading provider of AI and cloud services in India, currently operates three datacenter regions in the country and plans to launch a fourth next year.
The $3 billion investment will support the creation of a scalable AI computing ecosystem to assist AI startups and researchers in India.
India has become one of the largest and fastest-growing developer hubs globally, with over 17 million developers using Microsoft’s GitHub platform.
Prominent tech leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su, have recently visited India to engage with its thriving developer community.
In addition, Microsoft has signed an AI-focused memorandum of understanding with SaaSBoomi, a community for B2B startups in India. This collaboration aims to foster entrepreneurship in smaller cities and towns and attract $1.5 billion in venture capital funding for Indian AI and SaaS startups.
Nadella also noted that many Indian businesses are already leveraging Microsoft’s latest AI technologies.
Some of its notable clients in India include Infosys, Air India, Meesho, Tech Mahindra, Federal Bank, Apollo, MakeMyTrip, HCL Tech, Manipal, Icertis, and InMobi. For example, IT company Persistent is using Microsoft 365 Copilot’s "Contract Assist" tool to reduce contract negotiation times by 70%.
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