Microsoft has unveiled plans to invest $3 billion in India over the next two years to expand its cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure, alongside a commitment to train 10 million people in AI skills by 2030.

The announcement was made by Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella during his visit to India, where he outlined the company's vision to support India's AI innovation and digital transformation goals.

"India is rapidly becoming a leader in AI innovation, unlocking new opportunity across the country," said Nadella. "The investments in infrastructure and skilling we are announcing today reaffirm our commitment to making India AI-first, and will help ensure people and organizations across the country benefit broadly."

The investment includes the expansion of Microsoft's datacenter presence in India, with three existing regions and a fourth scheduled to go live in 2026. The company aims to develop a scalable AI computing ecosystem to meet the growing demands of India's expanding AI start-up and research community.

Microsoft India and South Asia president Puneet Chandok highlighted the company's recent progress in implementing AI across various sectors. "In the last 12 months Microsoft has been a copilot to making AI a reality in India, taking it from boardrooms to classrooms, commerce to communities, and finance to farmers," he said.

The company has already exceeded its initial target of training two million people in AI skills by 2025, having trained 2.4 million individuals in less than a year. Notably, 65 per cent of participants were women, and 74 per cent came from tier II and tier III cities.

As part of the announcement, Microsoft Research Lab launched an AI Innovation Network to accelerate the transition from research to business solutions. The company has also signed a memorandum of understanding with SaaSBoomi to support India's AI and software-as-a-service ecosystem, aiming to impact over 5,000 startups and 10,000 entrepreneurs.

The investment includes sustainability commitments, with Microsoft announcing that its new data centres will consume zero water for cooling through a closed-loop system. The company has also secured renewable energy contracts with local providers Amplus and ReNew to support its carbon-negative goals by 2030.

---