Microsoft inaugurates new campus in Hyderabad, inks pact with Telangana govt for AI push

Hyderabad: Global IT giant Microsoft on Thursday opened a brand-new campus as the company celebrated 25 years in Hyderabad. This state-of-the-art 1.1 million sq ft LEED-certified building in Gachibowli that can house 2,500 additional employees was inaugurated by chief minister, A Revanth Reddy.

This is Microsoft's largest R&D hub outside its US headquarters. Microsoft employs more than 20,000 professionals in India, with over half of them based in Hyderabad. With the launch of the new building, Microsoft plans to hire an additional 4,800 employees.

On this occasion, Microsoft also announced another landmark initiative in partnership with the government of Telangana to impart AI training to over 1.2 lakh persons in the state. Under the first program ADVANTA(I)GE TELANGANA, Microsoft is launching an AI Foundations Academy to introduce AI education to 500 government schools benefiting 50,000 students.

Additionally, the AI-Industry Pro programme will upskill 20,000 industry professionals across Telangana. The third program AI-Govern initiative will further train 50,000 government officials in critical areas such as digital productivity, Generative AI, and cybersecurity.

Also, Microsoft will establish and operate an AICoE in collaboration with the Government of Telangana and other stakeholders. This CoE will establish cloud-based infrastructure for AI development, including a centralized AI Knowledge Hub. This repository would compile research, case studies, and best practices benefiting thousands of employees across the state.

To support the growth of AI, Microsoft has further announced doubling of its investments in hyperscale AI data centers in the state. This will make Hyderabad region one of largest data hubs of Microsoft globally.

An MoU encompassing all the above initiatives was signed between the company and the ITE&C department and exchanged in the presence of chief minister, A Revanth Reddy on Thursday and this is a direct outcome of the recent meeting between Revanth Reddy and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in January 2025, where they agreed to work closely to modernize government IT and cloud infrastructure and fast track the development and adoption of AI solutions.

“Hyderabad and Microsoft have grown together, and as a proud representative of this state, I can say with certainty this is just the beginning. The world looks at Hyderabad today as a technology powerhouse, a city that nurtures innovation and attracts global talent. And with partners like Microsoft, the future is even brighter, ” said the chief minister, A Revanth Reddy.