Microsoft (MSFT) is going to invest $17.5B in India over four years (2026 to 2029) to advance the country’s cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling, and ongoing operations.
The investment would be the company’s largest in Asia and builds on the $3B commitment for India announced earlier this year, which Microsoft is on track to spend by the end of 2026, according to the company.
The announcement follows Microsoft’s Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella’s meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ahead of the company’s India AI tour.
Microsoft’s investment in India focuses on three pillars — scale, skills and sovereignty — aligned with Prime Minister Modi’s vision of building an ecosystem that drives AI innovation and access at a national scale, according to the company.
“This transformation is anchored on three pillars: hyperscale infrastructure to run AI at scale, sovereign-ready solutions that ensure trust, and skilling programs that empower every Indian to not just join the future but shape it,” said Puneet Chandok, president, Microsoft India and South Asia.
Microsoft said new investment will be used to continue to scale its cloud and AI infrastructure, training initiatives and ongoing operations across India. This includes the company’s workforce of more than 22,000 employees across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, Noida and other cities.
One of the key priorities of the company’s investment is building secure, sovereign-ready hyperscale infrastructure to enable AI adoption in India. Microsoft said significant progress is being made at the India South Central cloud region, based in Hyderabad, that is set to go live in mid-2026. This will be the company’s largest hyperscale region in India, comprising three availability zones.
Microsoft noted that it will also continue to expand its three existing operational data center regions in Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.
Microsoft said it is introducing Sovereign Public Cloud and Sovereign Private Cloud for Indian customers. The company noted that Sovereign Public Cloud is now available from Microsoft’s Indian regions, while Sovereign Private Cloud, powered by Azure Local, will support both connected and disconnected operations in customers or its partner’s data centers.
The company also announced efforts to integrate advanced AI capabilities into two digital public platforms of the Ministry of Labour and Employment — e-Shram and the National Career Service, or NCS. The initiative aims to extend the benefits of AI to more than 310 million informal workers.
Microsoft is also doubling its commitment of January to equip 20 million Indians with essential AI skills by 2030, working with government, industry, and digital public platforms to ensure equitable access to opportunity.