NEW DELHI, India — Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it will invest $17.5 billion in India over four years, from 2026 to 2029, marking the technology company’s largest investment in Asia as it seeks to accelerate the country’s artificial intelligence ecosystem. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the commitment, saying India’s youth will harness AI to innovate and help build a better planet.
“Today we are announcing our largest investment in Asia — $17.5 billion over four years (CY 2026 to 2029) — to advance India’s cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, skilling and ongoing operations,” Microsoft said in a statement. The company noted that this builds on the $3 billion investment announced earlier this year, which is expected to be fully deployed by the end of 2026.
The announcement followed a meeting in New Delhi between Prime Minister Modi and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, who is in India for an AI-focused tour.
“Thank you, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 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,” Nadella posted on X.
Responding on social media, PM Modi wrote that the world is increasingly optimistic about India’s potential in AI. He added that the country’s young population will “innovate and leverage the power of AI for a better planet.”
According to Microsoft, India is at a defining moment in its AI journey and is emerging as a frontier nation leading technological transformation. The company said its new investment will focus on three pillars — scale, skills, and sovereignty — aligned with India’s long-term AI roadmap.
The funding will support the continued expansion of Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure, workforce development, and operations across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, Noida, and other technology hubs. Microsoft employs more than 22,000 people across its India operations, contributing to engineering, model development, product innovation, and global AI services such as Copilot Studio, Azure AI Search, AI agents, and Azure Machine Learning.
A central element of the new investment is the development of secure, sovereign-ready hyperscale infrastructure to support India’s accelerating AI adoption. Microsoft highlighted significant progress at its India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad, which is slated to go live in mid-2026. The facility will become the company’s largest hyperscale region in the country, with three availability zones covering an area roughly equal to two Eden Gardens stadiums.
In addition, Microsoft plans to expand its existing data center regions in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune to provide businesses, startups, and public institutions with increased capacity, resilience, and low-latency services.
Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw called the investment a milestone that reinforces India’s position as a trusted global technology partner. He said the partnership will help India transition from digital public infrastructure to AI public infrastructure.
Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, said the new commitment — combined with the $3 billion investment announced in January 2025 — aims to turn India’s AI ambition into tangible impact for citizens nationwide. He emphasized the importance of hyperscale infrastructure, sovereign-ready solutions, and broad-based skilling programs that equip Indians to participate in and shape the AI-driven future. (Source: IANS)
