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Microsoft noted that a significant portion of the investment will go toward expanding hyperscale cloud and AI data center capacity
In sum – what to know:
Microsoft commits US$17.5B to India over four years – Funding expands AI and cloud infrastructure, sovereign cloud options, and national digital platforms through mid-2026 and beyond.
Skilling target doubled to 20 million people by 2030 – Ongoing initiatives aim to build an AI-ready workforce, with 5.6 million already trained since early 2025.
Microsoft announced a $17.5 billion investment in India over four years (2026–2029) to expand cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, workforce training, and operational capacity across the country.
The commitment — Microsoft’s largest in Asia — builds on the $3 billion investment revealed earlier this year, which the company expects to complete by the end of 2026.
The announcement follows Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where both discussed the country’s AI priorities and long-term roadmap. According to Microsoft, the new investment mainly centers on three areas: infrastructure scale, workforce skills, and digital sovereignty.
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, union minister of electronics and information technology, said: “As AI reshapes the digital economy, India remains committed to innovation anchored in trust and sovereignty. Microsoft’s landmark investment signals India’s rise as a reliable technology partner for the world. This partnership will set new benchmarks and drive the country’s leap from digital public infrastructure to AI public infrastructure.”
The investment will support Microsoft’s cloud regions, workforce, and engineering teams across several Indian cities, where more than 22,000 employees work on product development, AI infrastructure, and support services for domestic and global customers. These teams contribute to parts of Microsoft’s AI stack such as Copilot Studio, AI Search, AI agents, and Azure Machine Learning.
Microsoft noted that a significant portion of the investment will go toward expanding hyperscale cloud and AI data center capacity. The India South Central region in Hyderabad, scheduled to go live in mid-2026, will be Microsoft’s largest hyperscale footprint in the country, with three availability zones. The company also plans further buildout of its existing regions in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune to improve availability, resilience, and low-latency access for public and private sector organizations.
Microsoft also outlined new sovereign cloud options for Indian customers. Sovereign Public Cloud will be available through Microsoft’s Indian regions, while Sovereign Private Cloud — supported by Azure Local — will serve customers requiring higher levels of data isolation or regulatory control. Azure Local will also integrate external SAN storage and Nvidia GPUs, and Microsoft 365 Local will run on Sovereign Private Cloud for regulated sectors. The company reiterated that Microsoft 365 Copilot will process data entirely within India by the end of 2025.
Microsoft also announced it will double its AI skilling goal — raising its target from 10 million to 20 million people trained by 2030. Through its ADVANTA(I)GE India initiative, the company states it has already trained 5.6 million people since January 2025, with more than 125,000 gaining jobs or entrepreneurial opportunities.
Puneet Chandok, president of Microsoft India and South Asia, said: “This transformation is anchored on three pillars: hyperscale infrastructure to run AI at scale, sovereign-ready solutions that ensure trust, and skilling programs that empower every Indian to not just join the future but shape it.”
