Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says funding will assist Southeast Asia’s largest economic system thrive in ‘new period’.
Microsoft has introduced plans to speculate $1.7bn in synthetic intelligence and cloud providers in Indonesia.
Underneath the plans unveiled by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, the tech large will practice 840,000 folks in Indonesia in using AI and supply assist for the nation’s rising ranks of tech builders.
The announcement marks the most important funding by Microsoft in its practically three-decade historical past within the Southeast Asian nation.
Nadella on Tuesday held talks with President Joko Widodo, popularly generally known as Jokowi, at Jakarta’s presidential palace earlier than delivering a keynote speech about AI within the Indonesian capital.
“This new era of AI is reshaping how folks dwell and work all over the place, together with in Indonesia,” Nadella mentioned on the primary cease of a tour of Southeast Asia.
“The investments we’re asserting immediately – spanning digital infrastructure, skilling, and assist for builders – will assist Indonesia thrive on this new period,” he mentioned.
Nadella mentioned Microsoft’s funding would “deliver the most recent and biggest AI infrastructure to Indonesia”.
“We’re going to steer this wave when it comes to AI infrastructure that’s wanted,” he mentioned.
Right this moment we introduced our largest funding in our practically three many years in Indonesia, as we companion to advance the nation’s cloud and AI ambitions, and assist Indonesia thrive on this new period. https://t.co/CqeLI9uVJd
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) April 30, 2024
Indonesia, with a inhabitants of about 280 million folks, is Southeast Asia’s largest economic system and is dwelling to the third-largest developer neighborhood within the area after India and China.
In a 2020 research, international consulting agency Kearney mentioned that AI might contribute practically $1 trillion to Southeast Asia’s gross home product by 2030, with Indonesia anticipated to seize $366bn of the acquire.
Nadella’s go to comes after Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner final month met Widodo and President-elect Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta, the place mentioned he would “have a look at” manufacturing within the nation.
Microsoft is in search of to spice up assist for the event of AI globally, and final month introduced multibillion-dollar investments in cloud and AI infrastructure in Japan and the UAE-based AI agency G42.