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.



Getty Images and Shutterstock to Merge, Forming $3.7 billion Stock Image Giant

Craig Peters, CEO of Getty Images, speaks during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
Craig Peters, CEO of Getty Images, speaks during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
TT

Getty Images and Shutterstock to Merge, Forming $3.7 billion Stock Image Giant

Craig Peters, CEO of Getty Images, speaks during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
Craig Peters, CEO of Getty Images, speaks during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Getty Images said on Tuesday it will merge with rival Shutterstock to create a $3.7 billion stock image powerhouse in a deal that would help the companies navigate the AI era, but likely attract antitrust scrutiny.

Shutterstock's shares were up 9.9% in premarket trading, while shares of Getty Images were up 18.7%, according to Reuters.

The combined company will be named Getty Images Holdings Inc and will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "GETY".

At close, Getty Images' CEO, Craig Peters, will serve as CEO of the combined company.

Getty competes with Reuters and the Associated Press in providing photos and videos for editorial use.