Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated on Tuesday that the company will invest $3 billion to expand its Azure cloud computing and artificial intelligence capabilities in India. Analysts believe this move further bets on India's technological expertise and cost advantages to help drive the profitability of such investments.
According to Reuters, this two-year investment is Microsoft's largest ever in India and will also be used to enhance the skill levels of Indians in the field of artificial intelligence. A Microsoft spokesperson clarified that this expenditure is in addition to the company's recently announced plan to invest $80 billion in building AI data centers for the fiscal year 2025.
India is a key growth market for U.S. tech giants, and in recent months, Silicon Valley executives, including NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su, have visited India and pledged large-scale investments. Amazon stated in 2023 that it plans to invest $12.7 billion in India by 2030.
Currently, Microsoft has over 20,000 employees across 10 cities in India. As one of India's leading cloud and artificial intelligence providers, Microsoft operates three data center regions in India and plans to launch a fourth data center next year. Microsoft stated that this $3 billion investment will be used to develop a scalable AI computing ecosystem to support India's AI startups and research community.
Nadella, speaking at a conference in Bangalore, southern India, said this new investment aims to help the local tech community grow and tap into India's talent pool. He specifically noted the contributions of the Indian developer community to Microsoft, particularly in the development of Microsoft's generative AI developer tool GitHub Copilot.
<blockquote>
“The infrastructure and skills training investment we announced today reaffirms our commitment to making India an AI-first nation, which will help ensure that individuals and organizations across India benefit widely. The pace of AI adoption in India is exciting.”
“India is the second-largest developer community on GitHub, after the United States, and is expected to become the largest community by 2028.”
“India's contributions to AI projects are second only to the United States.”
</blockquote>
Analysts believe that, like other tech companies, Microsoft is under pressure to prove that its massive investments in AI technology can yield profitable returns. However, GitHub is one of the few AI projects that has already generated revenue for Microsoft. In July of this year, Microsoft stated that the annualized revenue estimate for the tool has reached $2 billion. Over 17 million Indian developers use Microsoft's GitHub platform.
Nadella stated that Microsoft plans to train 10 million people in India to acquire AI skills by 2030. Last year, the company already enhanced the AI skill levels of 2.4 million people.
Microsoft also announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding on artificial intelligence with India's B2B startup community SaaSBoomi. As part of the collaboration, both parties will work to promote entrepreneurial activities in India's small and medium-sized cities and attract an additional $1.5 billion in venture capital for Indian AI and SaaS startups
Nadella stated that Microsoft has seen many Indian customers using its latest technology. Some of Microsoft's clients in India include Infosys, Air India, Meesho, Tech Mahindra, Federal Bank, Apollo, MakeMyTrip, HCL Technologies, Manipal, Icertis, and InMobi.
Nadella added that the IT company Persistent is using Microsoft's 365 Copilot's &#34;Contract Assist,&#34; which has reduced negotiation time by 70%

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Microsoft stated that this expenditure is an additional investment beyond the company's recently announced plan to invest $80 billion in building AI data centers for the fiscal year 2025. It will be used to develop a scalable artificial intelligence computing ecosystem, support AI startups and research communities in India, and aims to train 10 million people in India to master AI skills by 2030

- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a $3 billion investment to expand Azure cloud computing and AI capabilities in India, marking the company's largest investment in the country to date.  
- This two-year initiative aims to enhance local tech skills and support AI startups, while also being separate from Microsoft's previously announced $80 billion investment in AI data centers for fiscal year 2025.  
- Nadella emphasized the importance of India's developer community and the commitment to train 10 million people in AI skills by 2030, reflecting India's growing role in the global tech landscape.

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Betting on India! Microsoft will invest $3 billion to expand AI computing power and cultivate 10 million AI talents by 2030