Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (L) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Credit: X/@satyanadella
Microsoft on Tuesday announced over Rs 1.55 lakh crore ($17.5 billion) investment in India over four years (CY 2026 to 2029) to advance the country's cloud, AI infrastructure, skilling and ongoing operations. This is its largest investment in Asia.
The US tech giant's investment commitment comes at a time when organisations are enhancing their AI capabilities and upskilling talent.
This investment comes on top of the earlier $3 billion investment it announced in January this year.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday, in a post on X said, "Thank You, PM Narendra Modi ji, for an inspiring conversation on India's AI opportunity. To support the country’s ambitions, Microsoft is committing US$17.5B—our largest investment ever in Asia—to help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India’s AI-first future."
In their meeting, both leaders (Nadella and PM) discussed the country’s AI roadmap and growth priorities. Microsoft’s investment in India focuses on three pillars—scale, skills and sovereignty—aligned with the Prime Minister’s vision of building a comprehensive ecosystem that drives AI innovation and access at a national scale, the company said in a statement.
The company's new investment will also be used for skilling initiatives. This includes its workforce of more than 22,000 employees across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, Noida and other cities.
One of the key priorities of the company's investment is building secure, sovereign-ready hyperscale infrastructure to enable AI adoption in India.
"At the heart of this effort is the significant progress being made at the India South Central cloud region, based in Hyderabad, that is set to go live in mid-2026. This will be our largest hyperscale region in India, comprising three availability zones — roughly equivalent in size to two Eden Gardens stadiums combined," it said.
The company also announced that it will continue to expand its three existing operational data centre regions in Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.
Microsoft is also doubling its commitment of January 2025 to equip 20 million Indians with essential AI skills by 2030, working with government, industry, and digital public platforms.
Through its ADVANTA(I)GE India initiative, executed by Microsoft Elevate, the company has already trained 5.6 million people since January 2025.