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Microsoft to Invest $1.7 bln in Cloud, AI in Indonesia

(FILES) The logo of Microsoft US multinational technology corporation is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)
(FILES) The logo of Microsoft US multinational technology corporation is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)
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Microsoft to Invest $1.7 bln in Cloud, AI in Indonesia

(FILES) The logo of Microsoft US multinational technology corporation is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)
(FILES) The logo of Microsoft US multinational technology corporation is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)

Microsoft will invest $1.7 billion over the next four years into expanding cloud services and artificial intelligence in Indonesia, including building data centers, visiting chief executive Satya Nadella said on Tuesday.
Jakarta is Nadella's first stop on a trip to Southeast Asian countries aimed at promoting the US company's generative AI technology. He will go to Malaysia and Thailand later this week, Reuters said.
Microsoft's investment will "bring the latest and greatest AI infrastructure to Indonesia," Nadella said.
"We're going to lead this wave in terms of AI infrastructure that's needed," he added.
Nadella met outgoing President Joko Widodo and his cabinet ministers earlier on Tuesday to discuss joint AI research and talent development, Communications Minister Budi Arie Setiadi told reporters.
Widodo suggested Microsoft base its data centers on the resort island of Bali or in the new capital city Nusantara, which is still under construction in the jungle of Borneo, the minister said.
Microsoft will train 2.5 million people in Southeast Asia in AI use by 2025, Nadella said, including 840,000 in Indonesia.
Microsoft is trying to expand its support for the development of AI globally, including with a $2.9 billion investment in cloud and AI infrastructure in Japan and a $1.5 billion investment in UAE-based AI firm G42.
Nadella's Jakarta visit comes two weeks after Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook met Widodo and said he would look into building a manufacturing facility in Indonesia.
Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment.
Last week, Microsoft beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit, driven by gains from adoption of artificial intelligence across its cloud services.

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Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
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Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)

Microsoft pledged Wednesday to fight any US government order to halt data center operations in Europe as it sought to soothe concerns among European customers that trans-Atlantic tensions would lead to service disruptions.

The company's president, Brad Smith, said it's not something that officials are talking about in Washington, D.C. but it is a “real concern” for Microsoft's customers across Europe, which include governments.

President Donald Trump has stoked tensions between the US and Europe with his tariff-fueled trade war, and alarmed European leaders with policy changes, including pausing intelligence sharing with Ukraine, that throw into doubt his administration's commitment to the trans-Atlantic relationship, The AP news reported.

Smith, speaking at an event in Brussels, tried to allay concerns as he announced that the company was expanding data center operations across Europe.

“What we want Europeans to know is that they can count on us,” he said in a speech.

“In the unlikely event we are ever ordered by any government anywhere in the world to suspend or cease cloud operations in Europe, we are committing that Microsoft will promptly and vigorously contest such a measure using all legal avenues available, including by pursuing litigation in court,” Smith wrote in a Wednesday blog post.

He noted that Microsoft has experience fighting lawsuits from the previous Trump administration as well as from former President Barack Obama’s administration.

“If we ever find ourselves losing we will put in place business continuity arrangements” that include storing computer code in Switzerland that European partners can access, he said.

Microsoft is making five digital commitments to Europe, including increasing its data center capacity by 40 in 16 countries over the next two years, Smith said. The expansion will cost tens of billions of dollars annually. Smith declined to be more specific about the cost when asked by reporters.

The expansion comes amid calls for Europe to assert tech and data sovereignty by weaning itself off reliance from big US cloud data service providers, including Microsoft, Amazon and, to a lesser extent, Google.

“Given recent geopolitical volatility, we recognize that European governments likely will consider additional options,” and Microsoft is committed to collaborating with European companies, Smith said.