Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appears astatine an lawsuit with tech CEOs and elder officials, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, successful the East Room of the White House successful Washington connected June 22, 2023.
Chris Kleponis | CNP | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Microsoft connected Tuesday announced it would put $17.5 cardinal successful India's unreality and artificial quality infrastructure, making it the U.S. tech giant's largest concern successful Asia.
The institution said that the investments, aimed astatine expanding hyperscale infrastructure, embedding AI into nationalist platforms, and advancing workforce readiness, volition beryllium dispersed implicit 4 years, gathering connected its $3 cardinal pledge made successful January.
The announcement follows a gathering betwixt Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi successful which the 2 discussed India's AI ambitions. Modi met with different tech CEOs connected Tuesday excessively including Intel's Lip-Bu Tan.
In a station connected societal media, Nadella thanked Modi and said that Microsoft's investments would "help physique the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India's AI archetypal future."
The determination comes arsenic India attempts to drawback up connected AI, with Modi emphasizing gathering a broad tech ecosystem and AI sovereignty. The state has besides precocious attracted information halfway investment pledges of $15 cardinal from Google and $8 cardinal from Amazon Web Services.
"The younker of India volition harness this accidental to innovate and leverage the powerfulness of AI for a amended planet," Modi said successful a station connected X, referring to Microsoft's investment.
Microsoft plans to usage the funds to standard up its existing unreality and AI infrastructure to service customers crossed regions successful India. It present provides "Sovereign Public Cloud" and "Sovereign Private Cloud" services successful respective regions.
The institution added that it was doubling its January committedness to bid 20 cardinal Indians successful AI by 2030, with hopes to turn and accomplishment its much than 22,000 employees successful the country.
Microsoft besides announced connected Tuesday that it would beryllium integrating its Azure AI capabilities into 2 cardinal integer nationalist platforms of India's Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National Career Service.
India's Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw called the concern a awesome of India's emergence arsenic a reliable planetary exertion partner, accelerating the displacement from integer to AI nationalist infrastructure.
While India lags acold down planetary leaders successful precocious technologies similar chips and AI, the country's monolithic user marketplace and nationalist backing person attracted large tech players.
Under its "India Semiconductor Mission," the state has approved 10 spot projects with full investments of implicit $18 billion.
On Monday, American spot decorator Intel signed a deal with Mumbai-based Tata Electronics aimed astatine collaborating connected spot offerings successful the country, including connected products for AI applications.
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