SDAIA President Launches High-Capacity Technical Projects and Data Centers

The projects aim to increase the capacity and operational efficiency of data centers. (SPA)
The projects aim to increase the capacity and operational efficiency of data centers. (SPA)
TT

SDAIA President Launches High-Capacity Technical Projects and Data Centers

The projects aim to increase the capacity and operational efficiency of data centers. (SPA)
The projects aim to increase the capacity and operational efficiency of data centers. (SPA)

Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) President Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi launched on Saturday several technical infrastructure expansion projects and data centers in Riyadh.

The projects, the first of their kind in Saudi Arabia, were launched at an event attended by Director of the National Information Center Dr. Essam bin Abdullah Al-Waqit, and other SDAIA leaders and officials.

The new data centers boast an electrical capacity of up to 65 kilowatts per cabin and feature highly efficient electrical and mechanical systems. The projects aim to increase the capacity and operational efficiency of data centers.

These initiatives are part of SDAIA’s strategy to develop sustainable data centers built according to the best global practices and standards set by the UPTIME Institute, the global authority on data center evaluation and classification.



Microsoft to Invest $3 Bln to Expand AI, Cloud Capacity in India

26 March 2021, Bavaria, Munich: The Microsoft logo hangs on the facade of an office building in Parkstadt Schwabing in the north of the Bavarian capital. (dpa)
26 March 2021, Bavaria, Munich: The Microsoft logo hangs on the facade of an office building in Parkstadt Schwabing in the north of the Bavarian capital. (dpa)
TT

Microsoft to Invest $3 Bln to Expand AI, Cloud Capacity in India

26 March 2021, Bavaria, Munich: The Microsoft logo hangs on the facade of an office building in Parkstadt Schwabing in the north of the Bavarian capital. (dpa)
26 March 2021, Bavaria, Munich: The Microsoft logo hangs on the facade of an office building in Parkstadt Schwabing in the north of the Bavarian capital. (dpa)

Microsoft will invest about $3 billion to expand capacity for artificial intelligence and its Azure cloud-computing services in India, CEO Satya Nadella said on Tuesday.

The tech giant is the latest to pledge investment in India, a country seen as a key growth market for US technology companies thanks to its population of more than 1.4 billion people and low-cost internet access.

Executives ranging from Nvidia chief Jensen Huang to Meta's chief AI scientist Yann LeCun have visited India in recent months.

The $3 billion investment in India would be the "single largest expansion" done in the country, Nadella said at a conference in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.

Microsoft will also train 10 million people in AI in India by 2030, Nadella said.

When Nadella visited India early last year, he announced the company will provide 2 million people in the country with AI skilling opportunities by 2025, focused on training individuals in smaller cities as well as rural areas.

Nadella met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, and the pair discussed "tech, innovation and AI" and "Microsoft's ambitious expansion and investment plans in India."

Microsoft has been pouring billions of dollars into expanding capacity across the globe to boost AI infrastructure and its data-center network.

The company last week unveiled plans to invest about $80 billion in fiscal 2025.

The investment, more than half of which will be in the United States, will focus on developing data centers to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications.