Microsoft Boosts Global AI Investment, India Set for Major Share
Microsoft announced a USD 23 billion investment in artificial intelligence, with a significant portion allocated to India. This commitment deepens the US technology giant’s presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing digital markets.
Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella stated Microsoft would invest USD 17.5 billion in India, its largest investment in Asia. This four-year spending plan, beginning in 2026, builds on a USD 3 billion commitment made earlier this year.
The investment aims to establish Microsoft’s largest cloud-computing presence in India. With approximately one billion internet users and deep technological talent, India has become a key destination for US technology giants.
Companies are investing billions of USD to build essential AI infrastructure in the country. Data centres are considered India’s best opportunity to capitalise on the AI boom, given its limited chip-manufacturing capabilities.
Google previously committed to investing USD 15 billion over five years to construct an AI data centre in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. This represents Google’s largest commitment in the world’s most populous nation.
Nadella shared a photo with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X, stating that Microsoft’s spending would “help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India’s AI first future.” Nadella is currently in the country for a three-day trip for the company’s AI conferences, with events scheduled in New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.
These latest investments are part of a high-stakes AI race among technology companies. They also occur amid an ongoing diplomatic standoff between New Delhi and Washington concerning tariffs and a stalled trade deal.
Microsoft also announced it would invest more than C$ 7.5 billion (USD 5.42 billion) in Canada over the next two years. New cloud capacity from this investment is expected to become available in the second half of 2026.
This Canadian investment forms part of a total planned C$ 19 billion expenditure between 2023 and 2027. It will help expand the company’s Azure Local cloud offering in Canada.
Microsoft is partnering with Canadian AI startup Cohere to provide the firm’s advanced AI models on its Azure platform. The Windows maker and other major US cloud providers anticipate spending more than USD 400 billion on AI this year.
This expenditure supports the development of data centres necessary for services like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini. However, this escalating spending and the limited evidence of real-world AI productivity gains have sparked fears of an AI bubble.
A new data centre in Hyderabad will become Microsoft’s largest hyperscale region in India, projected to go live in mid-2026. Microsoft will also expand its three existing regions in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune.
The organisation has doubled an earlier pledge to equip 20 million Indians with essential AI skills by 2030. Total data centre capacity in India is forecast to more than triple to about 4.5 gigawatts by 2030, according to real estate consultancy Colliers.
Microsoft employs over 22,000 people in India and approximately 5,300 in Canada. Recently, the company announced plans to invest USD 10 billion in AI infrastructure in Portugal and USD 15 billion in the United Arab Emirates.
Microsoft plans USD 23 billion in new artificial intelligence investments globally.
India will receive USD 17.5 billion, the largest investment in Asia, over four years starting in 2026.
This commitment aims to build AI infrastructure, skills, and expand Microsoft’s cloud-computing presence in India.
Source: REUTERS
