Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that the tech giant will invest $3 billion in India over the next two years to bolster the country’s cloud and artificial intelligence capabilities. As part of this commitment, the company aims to train 10 million people in India on AI skills by 2030.
“I am really really excited to announce the single largest expansion we have ever done in India by putting $3 billion additional dollars to expand our Azure capacity,” Nadella said at the keynote address at the “Microsoft AI Tour” event on Tuesday (January 7).
The investment will also support the growing demand for cloud services and AI infrastructure. Nadella also emphasized the growing AI ecosystem in India, with over 30,500 AI projects currently under development.
“There are 17 million developers in India on Github. This will be the largest by 2028,” Nadella added.
Nadella also revealed plans for regional expansion within India, further strengthening the company’s presence and reach.
Last year in February, Microsoft unveiled a skilling initiative in India, aiming to equip 2 million people with AI skills by 2025.
Microsoft Research Lab launches AI Innovation Network.
The Microsoft Research Lab has also launched an AI Innovation Network, an initiative designed to accelerate the transition from research to real, usable business solutions.
In addition, Microsoft and SaaSBoomi—a pay-it-forward community of 4000+ startups and 6000+ founders—have joined hands to push India’s AI and SaaS ecosystem towards a trillion-dollar economy, aiming to impact over 5,000 startups and 10,000 entrepreneurs.
Satya Nadella meets PM Modi.
This announcement follows Nadella’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who pledged support for India’s vision of becoming an AI-first nation.
“Thank you, PM @narendramodi ji for your leadership,” Nadella said in a post on LinkedIn, X and Threads.
“Excited to build on our commitment to making India AI-first and work together on our continued expansion in the country to ensure every Indian benefits from this AI platform shift,” he added.
— satyanadella (@satyanadella)
The PM responded to Nadella’s post on X, saying he is glad to know about the tech and innovation in the AI space.
“It was indeed a delight to meet you, @satyanadella! Glad to know about Microsoft’s ambitious expansion and investment plans in India. It was also wonderful discussing various aspects of tech, innovation and AI in our meeting,” Modi said.
— narendramodi (@narendramodi)
