Over half of the investment is reserved for infrastructure. Microsoft President Brad Smith frames AI investment as key to economic growth.

Microsoft Corp. plans to spend $3 billion to expand its cloud computing and artificial intelligence capabilities in India, targeting the world’s most populous country to fuel its revenue growth.

More than half of the $80 billion budget is expected to be deployed in the United States. The facilities will help train AI models and distribute cloud-based applications across the globe, according to Microsoft vice chair Brad Smith.

Microsoft will spend $3 billion to expand its Azure cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) capacity in India, CEO Satya Nadella said on Tuesday, doubling down on a country with tech expertise and low costs to help turn such investments profitable.

The company plans to grow the company’s Azure cloud business in India and set up new data centers.

Amid growing investments in India's AI sector, Microsoft has announced plans to invest US$3 billion in the country. This substantial investment aims to enhance AI capabilities and expand the reach of Azure services across India.

The massive sum will go towards building out datacenters for training AI models, as well as deploying and improving global AI and cloud-based applications.