Microsoft CEO Pledges $1.7 Bn AI, Cloud Investment In Indonesia

Jakarta, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Apr, 2024) Microsoft's chief executive met the president of Indonesia on Tuesday, pledging a $1.7 billion investment in artificial intelligence and cloud computing to help develop the archipelago's AI infrastructure.

Satya Nadella held talks with President Joko Widodo, at Jakarta's presidential palace before delivering a keynote speech about AI in the Indonesian capital.

"The thing I am really excited to announce today is the expanded announcement of data centre investment, so $1.7 billion to bring the latest and greatest AI infrastructure to Indonesia," Nadella told a crowd, adding data centres would be built in Indonesia soon.

"We are going to lead this wave in terms of the next generation of AI infrastructure that's needed," he said.

"Our mission ultimately is to empower every person and every organisation in Indonesia to take advantage of this next big AI wave.

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He said microsoft would provide AI training for 840,000 Indonesians.

Earlier, Nadella told Jokowi the tech giant would "invest significantly" in AI infrastructure and new cloud computing over the next four years, Minister of Communication and Informatics Budi Arie Setiadi said in a statement.

The Microsoft chief called it the "single biggest investment value" in the 29-year history of its business in the country, Budi said.

Microsoft has been hugely rewarded by investors since it aggressively pushed into rolling out generative AI, starting with its $13 billion partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, in 2023.