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Microsoft Expands India Presence With $17.5B AI and Cloud Commitment
Microsoft on Tuesday announced a $17.5 billion plan to expand its cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in India over the next four years, the company’s largest investment in Asia to date.
The investment, planned for 2026 through 2029, builds on Microsoft’s earlier $3 billion commitment made in January 2025. The effort also includes doubling its training programs, with a target of preparing 20 million people with AI skills by 2030.
Company Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss India’s AI plans ahead of Microsoft’s India AI tour.
"As AI reshapes the digital economy, India remains committed to innovation anchored in trust and sovereignty," said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology. "Microsoft's landmark investment signals India's rise as a reliable technology partner for the world."
The investment focuses on three areas: building more hyperscale infrastructure, expanding workforce training and supporting sovereign cloud services. Microsoft plans to add a new India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad, scheduled to open in mid-2026. The site will include three availability zones and will be the company’s largest hyperscale region in India.
"Building on the US$3 billion investment announced in January 2025, our new US$17.5 billion commitment and deep partnership across India's technology ecosystem are focused on turning India's AI ambition into impact for every citizen," said Puneet Chandok, president of Microsoft India and South Asia.
Microsoft also outlined plans to add AI capabilities to two government platforms operated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The e-Shram and National Career Service systems serve more than 310 million informal workers and will incorporate multilingual support, AI-guided job matching, predictive analytics and automated resume tools.
The company said it will double its AI skilling commitment, targeting 20 million trained workers by 2030. Through its ADVANTA(I)GE India program, Microsoft has trained 5.6 million people since January 2025, surpassing its original goal of training 10 million by the end of the decade. The company said the program has helped more than 125,000 participants secure jobs or launch businesses.
Microsoft this week also introduced two sovereign cloud offerings for India. Sovereign Public Cloud is now available with built-in compliance controls, while Sovereign Private Cloud, powered by Azure Local, will support connected and disconnected operations in customer or partner datacenters.
Microsoft confirmed that Microsoft 365 Copilot will offer in-country data processing in India by the end of 2025, making India one of four markets to receive the capability. Prompts and responses will be processed locally under normal operations.
The company employs about 22,000 people in India across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram and Noida, contributing to development work across Microsoft's AI technologies.
The announcement adds to a series of international cloud and AI investments by Microsoft, including recent commitments in Indonesia and France, as the company builds global infrastructure to support generative AI and large language model workloads.