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Microsoft Pledges $17.5 Billion for AI and Cloud in India, Its Largest Asia Investment

The four-year program runs from 2026 to 2029 with a new Hyderabad cloud region targeted for mid-2026.

Overview

  • Satya Nadella announced the plan after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thanked him in a post on X.
  • This commitment builds on Microsoft’s earlier $3 billion pledge that the company says it will finish deploying by the end of 2026.
  • Microsoft will open the India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad with three availability zones and will expand existing regions in Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.
  • The company has doubled its AI skilling target to 20 million people by 2030, reporting 5.6 million trained since January 2025.
  • Microsoft will offer sovereign cloud options and will add AI features to the e-Shram and National Career Service platforms to reach more than 310 million informal workers.