Microsoft Corporation has announced its largest-ever investment plan in Australia, committing to spend 25 billion Australian dollars (equivalent to $17.9 billion) by the end of 2029 to deepen its presence in the Asia-Pacific artificial intelligence market.
In a statement, Microsoft said it will significantly expand its Azure AI supercomputing center and cloud infrastructure in Australia, while also launching initiatives in AI safety, talent development, and cybersecurity. The announcement came ahead of a speech by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at a company event in Sydney on Thursday.
Microsoft and its U.S. peers Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Alphabet have each invested billions of dollars to compete for global AI users. Microsoft's Copilot product has trailed behind OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini model in growth, prompting the company to focus on emerging markets like Australia for breakthroughs.
Nadella stated, "Australia has significant potential to translate AI technology into tangible economic growth and social benefits."
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