Microsoft (MS) announced that it will invest $1.7 billion (approximately 2.35 trillion KRW) over the next four years to build cloud services and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in Indonesia (Inni).
According to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 30th (local time), this bold investment in Inni was announced after Satya Nadella, MS CEO, met with President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace in the capital city of Jakarta. Additionally, MS plans to train 2.5 million people in Southeast Asia, including Inni, to cultivate AI talent.
CEO Nadella emphasized that through this, “we will lead the AI wave in terms of infrastructure.” WSJ reported, “This investment is based on MS’s plan to build its first data center in Inni and is the largest single investment in a Southeast Asian country.”
MS expects this investment to meet the growing demand for cloud computing services in Inni. According to MS, more than 3.1 million developers in Inni use its software development platform, GitHub. This is the third-largest user base in Asia, following India and China.
MS has been expanding its AI-related investments daily, anticipating a global increase in demand for AI computing. Recently, MS invested $1.5 billion in G42, a state-owned AI company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and announced plans to spend $2.9 billion in Japan to expand generative AI data centers.
Bloomberg reported that CEO Nadella has visited several countries, emphasizing the potential of AI while presenting AI technology investment plans that can contribute to those countries. Starting with Inni on his Southeast Asia tour, Nadella is scheduled to visit Malaysia and Thailand, drawing attention to the AI-related messages and investment plans he will unveil.
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