Microsoft announced on December 9, 2025, that it has decided to invest $17.5 billion in India, the largest investment by any company in the Asia region. In an earlier meeting held in New Delhi with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
There were discussions about advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India and the opportunities in that sector. Microsoft's decision to invest significantly in India indicates how important the country has become to Microsoft's long-term global growth strategy.
Along with enhancing its IT capabilities, the investment will transform the Indian AI market. Microsoft will provide training to 20 million individuals, apply AI technology to improve public service delivery via e-Shram and NCS, and develop AI-enabled solutions.
As part of its multiple investment initiatives, Microsoft will create a new hyperscale cloud region for Hyderabad, which will become operational by mid-2026. In addition, the new Cloud Data Centre Region will contain three Availability Zones, each equivalent in size to two major stadiums.
Each Availability Zone is built to support enterprises with high reliability, low latency, and performance. There are currently additional Data Centres in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune; however, Microsoft will need to expand these Data Centres to support growing demand from Cloud and AI Workloads.
With its commitment to building up its infrastructure throughout India and expanding its skilling programs, Microsoft has set forth on its goals for developing skilling capabilities across India, setting an ambitious target of providing 20 million people with upskilling opportunities focused on Cloud Computing & Artificial Intelligence Technologies by 2030, compared to earlier targets set in 2025.
Microsoft will have over 22,000 employees located in cities throughout India, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, and Noida, supporting this initiative, working in various roles such as Product Engineering, Cloud Operations, AI Model Development and Customer Operations.
In addition to the scale and growth objectives of this initiative, Microsoft has also announced plans to enhance Public Sector Platforms with increased AI Capabilities such as eShram and the National Career Service (NCS). Through these enhancements, Microsoft intends to assist over 310 million workers in the informal workforce with AI assistance in matching jobs, creating resumes through automated processes, and providing multilingual access using Predictive Analytics.
Microsoft described its investment as focused on the following three pillars: Scale, Skill and Sovereignty. The Cloud Infrastructure will include Sovereign Ready Azure Public Cloud and Azure Private Sovereign Clouds. This offering will enable compliance with local laws and regulations regarding Personal Data Protection, as well as Governance Standards of all sectors, including Defence, Finance, and Compliance.
According to Microsoft President for India and South Asia, Puneet Chandok, the commitment reflects confidence in India’s growing potential as a global AI and tech hub. It intends to enable access to tools for entities spanning boardrooms, classrooms, commerce, and communities.
This fresh investment solidifies India’s standing as a preferred destination for global tech firms seeking cloud infrastructure, skilled talent, and a large consumer base. By adding massive data‑centre capacity and skilling millions, Microsoft is helping bridge gaps that earlier held back large‑scale AI deployment. The move could accelerate the adoption of AI-driven services, boost Indian startups, help public systems upgrade, and create new jobs in cloud, engineering, and services domains.
The investment, amid growing interest from other global giants, including Google's recent commitment, reaffirms a broader shift toward India as a strategic centre for technology investment and innovation.
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Microsoft's $17.5 billion investment is a transformative milestone in the Indian tech landscape, integrating sophisticated infrastructure with extensive AI and skilling programs. This commitment has strengthened India's position as a global hub for innovation, enterprise, and digital transformation.
Through improvements in cloud capacity and the application of AI on public platforms, Microsoft is creating opportunities for millions of workers and companies. The move sets a strong precedent for future technology investments, promising long-term benefits for India’s tech sector and broader digital economy.