During his visit to India, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella today announced the company’s plans to invest US $3 billion in India over the next two years in cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and skilling initiatives, including the establishment of new data centers. This initiative aims to accelerate AI innovation in India, a crucial step towards achieving the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of transforming the country into a developed nation by 2047. Microsoft can bolster national competitiveness in the long term by upskilling 10 million people across five years with AI expertise through its ADVANTA(I)GE India programme, building on the success of its inaugural edition.
Microsoft’s Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella observed, “India is rapidly emerging as a leader in AI innovation, unlocking fresh opportunities across the country.” The investments in infrastructure and skilling currently underway demonstrate our unwavering commitment to transforming India into an AI-driven economy, ultimately ensuring that individuals and organisations nationwide reap its benefits.
According to Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, “Over the past year, Microsoft has served as a trusted partner in bringing AI to life in India, transforming it from abstract concepts discussed in boardrooms to tangible applications in classrooms, commerce, communities, and even farmers’ fields. As today’s declaration solidifies our conviction in India’s boundless potential, we reaffirm our commitment to empower the country with the resources and forward-thinking expertise necessary to outshine its competitors on the global stage. “We will harness AI’s potential to unlock opportunities for the next few years, ensuring that communities nationwide have access to the computing power they need to thrive in the AI era.”
Microsoft’s strategy for accountable AI is built on six fundamental principles: ensuring equity, prioritizing reliability and security, safeguarding privacy and safety, promoting inclusivity, maintaining transparency, and being held accountable. Microsoft’s enhanced role and responsibility as a pioneer in artificial intelligence are highlighted through this funding. Microsoft is striving to expand access to its AI capabilities, enabling organisations and individuals to leverage AI solutions that can positively impact the broader community. Microsoft will operate its AI businesses and infrastructure in compliance with industry-leading responsible AI guidelines.
Microsoft plans to significantly expand its cloud and artificial intelligence capabilities by upgrading and strengthening its data center infrastructure across the country. Microsoft has established three datacenter regions globally, with a fourth area set to come online in 2026. This funding aims to establish a scalable AI computing ecosystem that meets the escalating demands of India’s rapidly growing AI startups and research community.
As professional roles continue to evolve in response to technological advancements, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming an indispensable skillset for many careers. In India, professionals excel at leveraging LinkedIn to further their skills and knowledge, dedicating an impressive 50% more time each week to self-study compared to their peers. With an impressive 122% year-over-year surge, Indian professionals have rapidly adopted AI technology, significantly enriching their online profiles by showcasing AI expertise, outpacing the global rate of 71%.
By 2024, Microsoft embarked on a groundbreaking initiative, aspiring to train a remarkable two million individuals in AI skills by 2025. Microsoft has made significant strides in its mission to empower Indians by accelerating the pace of AI skill acquisition, achieving a remarkable milestone of 2.4 million individuals trained within a remarkably short span of under a year. Indeed, a remarkable 65% of members are comprised of young women, while 74% hail from tier II and tier III cities, thereby ensuring nationwide inclusivity through their collective presence.
By 2030, the corporation has announced a significant milestone: empowering an additional 10 million Indians with vital AI skills. As a key component of Microsoft’s global social impact initiative, ADVANTA(ge) India offers expert training solutions that can be seamlessly integrated with government agencies, non-profit organizations, corporate partners, and community stakeholders to drive meaningful change.
Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Ability Growth and Entrepreneurship, observed that India’s dynamic youth and technological prowess will be instrumental in charting the future course for Artificial Intelligence. Through the ‘AI for India’ initiative, our objective is to equip citizens with advanced AI knowledge, fueling innovation, generating employment opportunities, and narrowing the digital gap. Collaborations with esteemed global partners such as Microsoft and its affiliated companies play a crucial role in driving this transformation forward. As we empower our workforce, especially girls and youth, with cutting-edge skills, we are building a future-proof India, primed to thrive in the digital era and drive sustainable economic growth.
Microsoft Research (MSR) Lab has launched an AI Innovation Community to further solidify its commitment to nurturing the Indian AI ecosystem’s growth. Below the AI Innovation Community, Microsoft Research (MSR) will foster new partnerships, primarily with digital-first organizations, to accelerate the shift from insights to tangible, practical business solutions.
MSR India has already established a collaborative partnership with Physics Wallah to develop math reasoning capabilities, while engaging in ongoing conversations with various Digital Natives regarding topics such as causal inference, optimizing Indian-language large-scale machine learning models for real-time application, and leveraging reinforcement learning techniques.
According to Prateek Maheshwari, co-founder of Physics Wallah, “We’ve always championed the power of knowledge to revolutionize education at Physics Wallah.” Our partnership with Microsoft Analytics marks a significant milestone in our efforts to develop tools that intuitively understand and support each student’s unique learning path. Through the convergence of our expertise and Microsoft’s advancements in artificial intelligence and large language models, we are striving to render training more accessible, tailored, and influential. Together, we are committed to significantly enhancing and empowering college students.
MSR India has a rich and storied history of fostering startup ecosystems through its initiatives, having successfully incubated numerous startups, including
Digital novices in AI for agriculture and Everwell in healthcare leveraged open-sourcing of advanced analytics, yielding innovative solutions that startups subsequently adopted. Two companies collaborating in innovative fields: Remidio in medical diagnostics and SoftX Applied sciences in transportation informatics. The brand-new AI Innovation Community will facilitate accelerated progress through collaborative engagement and analytical exchanges with select Digital Natives. Aspiring innovators will gain access to MSR’s pioneering research and expertise, while MSR may capitalize on the opportunity to apply its analytical capabilities at scale through collaborations with forward-thinking organizations.
Microsoft has further solidified its commitment to artificial intelligence innovation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SaaSBoomi, the leading community for B2B startups in India, aimed at fostering collaboration and driving growth in the region’s thriving startup ecosystem. The strategic partnership aims to accelerate the growth of India’s AI and SaaS industries, thereby transforming the country into a products-driven nation and propelling its economy towards a trillion-dollar milestone. Through a strategic collaboration between SaaSBoomi’s extensive community and Microsoft’s technological prowess, the partnership aims to catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship, with a specific focus on empowering startups in underserved tier II cities. Over the next five years, Microsoft and SaaSBoomi aim to positively impact over 5,000 startups and 10,000 entrepreneurs by offering more than 150,000 startup workers access to center-focused workshops that drive upskilling. The initiative seeks to stimulate regional growth in over 20 tier II cities, generate more than 200,000 new job opportunities, and attract an additional US $1.5 billion in venture capital funding for the Indian AI and SaaS ecosystem.
Underneath the Memorandum of Understanding, Microsoft has the potential to facilitate the growth of more than 50 unicorns and soonicorns, fostering advancements in innovation, sustainability, and technological infrastructure.
Microsoft is deeply committed to driving advancements in AI sustainability, proactively tackling the root causes needed to ensure responsible development and deployment of AI infrastructure. By 2030, Microsoft is committed to making bold strides towards a carbon-negative, water-positive, and zero-waste footprint, simultaneously protecting more land than it occupies while equipping others with the expertise necessary to forge a more sustainable future. Be taught extra in .
Microsoft empowers indigenous communities through meaningful collaborations while driving global digital innovation? These initiatives further strengthen our commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen, demonstrating our accountability as a global neighbour in regions where we operate, including India. In terms of sustainable operations for data centers, a key challenge lies in optimizing the consumption of energy and water resources needed to power artificial intelligence applications.
The corporation further notes that its newly constructed data centers are designed to require zero water consumption for cooling purposes. The innovative design eschews reliance on water evaporation, instead utilizing a continuous closed-loop system to recycle water. Microsoft has further solidified its commitment to sustainable energy in India through long-term agreements with Tata Power and Maheshwari Energy, supporting the company’s goal to become carbon-negative by 2030. As part of the settlement with ReNew, approximately $15 million in income from the contract may be allocated towards a neighborhood fund to support initiatives focused on enhancing girls’ livelihoods and financial empowerment, improving access to vital resources such as electricity, environmental remediation, and water quality enhancement, as well as addressing other concerns affecting communities disproportionately impacted by air pollution and climate change.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT @Microsoft) harnesses artificial intelligence to develop innovative platforms and tools that deliver forward-thinking solutions tailored to the dynamic needs of our customers. The expertise firm is committed to developing AI solutions that benefit humanity as a whole, while prioritizing responsible innovation, with a mission to enable every individual and community worldwide to achieve more.
