Microsoft is making a substantial $17.5 billion investment in India to advance the country's cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, marking its largest investment in Asia. This commitment, which follows an earlier $3 billion investment announced in January 2025, aims to support India's ambition to become a leading AI nation.

Here are six key facts about this significant investment:

1. Largest Investment in Asia: The $17.5 billion commitment is Microsoft's largest ever in Asia, demonstrating the company's confidence in India's potential as a global AI hub. Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, announced the investment after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where they discussed India's AI roadmap and growth priorities.

2. Focus on Three Pillars: Microsoft's investment strategy revolves around three key pillars: scale, skills, and sovereignty.

   • Scale: This involves building secure, sovereign-ready hyperscale infrastructure to enable widespread AI adoption in India. Microsoft is making significant progress on its India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad, which is set to go live in mid-2026 and will be its largest hyperscale region in India. The company will also continue to expand its existing data center regions in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune.
   • Skills: Microsoft aims to create an AI-ready workforce by equipping 20 million Indians with essential AI skills by 2030, doubling its initial commitment from January 2025. This will be achieved through collaborations with the government, industry, and digital public platforms to ensure equitable access to opportunities.
   • Sovereignty: Microsoft is introducing Sovereign Public Cloud and Sovereign Private Cloud for Indian customers. Sovereign Public Cloud is now available from Microsoft's Indian regions, while Sovereign Private Cloud, powered by Azure Local, will support both connected and disconnected operations in customer or partner datacenters.

3. Integration with Government Platforms: Microsoft plans to integrate advanced AI capabilities into key digital public platforms of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, namely e-Shram and the National Career Service (NCS). This initiative aims to extend the benefits of AI to over 310 million informal workers by connecting them to welfare schemes and providing AI-assisted job matching.

4. Expansion of Skilling Programs: Microsoft is committed to doubling its skilling commitment to train 20 million Indians in AI by 2030. Through its ADVANTA(I)GE India initiative, executed by Microsoft Elevate, the company has already trained 5.6 million people since January 2025, surpassing its original goal of training 10 million by 2030. These programs are designed to create real economic impact, enabling individuals to secure jobs or entrepreneurial opportunities.

5. Hyperscale Infrastructure Development: A key priority is building secure, sovereign-ready hyperscale infrastructure to facilitate AI adoption in India. The India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad is expected to go live in mid-2026 and will be Microsoft's largest hyperscale region in the country, comprising three availability zones.

6. AI for Public Good: Microsoft's investment aligns with the Indian government's vision of building a comprehensive ecosystem that drives AI innovation and access at a national scale. By integrating AI into public platforms and focusing on skilling initiatives, Microsoft aims to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive future for India, leveraging AI for social inclusion and employment access.

This investment signals India's growing importance in the global AI landscape and Microsoft's commitment to partnering with India in its journey towards becoming an AI-first nation.