Microsoft will invest $17.5 billion in India, its chief executive Satya Nadella said on social media platform X on Tuesday, as global behemoths race to build infrastructure in one the world’s fastest growing digital markets.
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. @PMOIndia,” said Nadella in a post on X.
Microsoft, valued at $3.64 trillion, said in a statement, the company plans to invest USD 17.5 billion in India over the next four years (2026-2029) to drive AI diffusion at a population scale.” It comes on top of Microsoft’s earlier commitment of USD 3 billion announced in January 2025,” the statement said.
This will be Microsoft’s largest investment in Asia. Its commitment for the next four years is also bigger than the $15 billion that Google, the Adani Group and Airtel announced last month for the Vizag AI hub, which is described as one of the biggest foreign direct investments in India’s history.
The mega investment comes as billionaire Mukesh Ambani is making $15 billion bet on artificial intelligence that will mint the conglomerate’s next fortune. And Dalal Street believes the market could value this AI venture at $30 billion, double the capital deployed, transforming what was once an oil-and-gas-to-telecom giant into a deep-tech powerhouse rivaling global hyperscalers. Reliance has incorporated Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Limited (REIL), a joint venture giving Meta a 30% stake alongside Reliance Intelligence’s 70% holding. The partners have jointly committed an initial ₹855 crore to develop, market and distribute enterprise AI services.
In October, Google said it will invest $15 billion in India over the next five years to establish its first AI hub in the country. Located in the southern city of Visakhapatnam, the hub will be one of Google’s largest globally. OpenAI has said it will open an India office, with its chief Sam Altman noting that ChatGPT usage in the country had grown fourfold over the past year.
AI firm Perplexity also announced a major partnership in July with Indian telecom giant Airtel, offering the company’s 360 million customers a free one-year Perplexity Pro subscription.
Source: Economictimes.indiatimes