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Microsoft Pours Record USD18B Into Australia’s AI Infrastructure
(MENAFN) Microsoft is pouring an unprecedented A$25 billion — approximately $18 billion — into Australia's artificial intelligence infrastructure, the tech giant announced Thursday, marking the single largest investment the company has ever made in the country.
The announcement was made jointly by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who is currently on a visit to Australia, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"This commitment will significantly expand Microsoft's Azure AI supercomputing and cloud infrastructure in Australia, expand the Microsoft-ASD Cyber-Shield to additional government agencies, deepen collaboration on national resilience with the Department of Home Affairs, and equip three million Australians with workforce-ready AI skills," the company stated.
Prime Minister Albanese underscored Canberra's ambition to ensure that "all Australians benefit from AI," adding: "Our National AI Plan is all about capturing the economic opportunities of this transformative technology while protecting Australians from the risks."
Nadella framed the investment as forward-looking, asserting that Australia holds an "enormous opportunity to translate AI into real economic growth and societal benefit."
The funding will flow into digital infrastructure, national cyber defense systems, and large-scale workforce training. Microsoft also committed to scaling its commercial cloud and AI/GPU capacity for Australian clients by more than 140% before the close of 2029.
This latest pledge dwarfs the company's earlier A$5 billion ($3.5 billion) commitment made in 2023. The announcement follows a separate Microsoft pledge earlier this month of 1.6 trillion yen — roughly $10 billion — for AI and cloud expansion in Japan, as well as a $17.5 billion investment in India announced last year.
The announcement was made jointly by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who is currently on a visit to Australia, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"This commitment will significantly expand Microsoft's Azure AI supercomputing and cloud infrastructure in Australia, expand the Microsoft-ASD Cyber-Shield to additional government agencies, deepen collaboration on national resilience with the Department of Home Affairs, and equip three million Australians with workforce-ready AI skills," the company stated.
Prime Minister Albanese underscored Canberra's ambition to ensure that "all Australians benefit from AI," adding: "Our National AI Plan is all about capturing the economic opportunities of this transformative technology while protecting Australians from the risks."
Nadella framed the investment as forward-looking, asserting that Australia holds an "enormous opportunity to translate AI into real economic growth and societal benefit."
The funding will flow into digital infrastructure, national cyber defense systems, and large-scale workforce training. Microsoft also committed to scaling its commercial cloud and AI/GPU capacity for Australian clients by more than 140% before the close of 2029.
This latest pledge dwarfs the company's earlier A$5 billion ($3.5 billion) commitment made in 2023. The announcement follows a separate Microsoft pledge earlier this month of 1.6 trillion yen — roughly $10 billion — for AI and cloud expansion in Japan, as well as a $17.5 billion investment in India announced last year.
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