Bangkok, Thailand – May 1, 2024: Satya Nadella, Executive Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Corporation, at the “Build by Microsoft: Artificial Intelligence Day” event at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center Give a speech. Satya Nadella announced that Microsoft plans to invest in its first data center “cloud-first” platform in Thailand. (Photo: Peerapon Boonyakiat/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced a “significant commitment” to build a new regional data center in Thailand, among other initiatives, as the U.S. tech giant ramps up its push into Southeast Asia. .
The company said it will also work to provide artificial intelligence skills training to more than 100,000 people and support local developers, but did not disclose the amount of investment.
A day earlier, Nadella said the company would invest $1.7 billion in Indonesia over the next four years to build new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
“Thailand has an incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, artificial intelligence-driven future,” Nadella said in a speech. statement On Wednesday, he added that the investments will help drive impact and growth in Thailand’s public and private sectors.
Microsoft said the commitments will enable the country to take advantage of the economic and productivity opportunities brought by artificial intelligence as demand for cloud computing services continues to grow among Thai companies.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said in a press release: “Today’s announcement with Microsoft is an important milestone in our journey to ‘Ignite Thailand’ vision to bring power to all Thais. New opportunities for growth, innovation and prosperity.
Microsoft has been expanding its presence in Southeast Asia, announcing plans to build new regional data centers in the region Malaysia and Indonesia 2021.
The boom in artificial intelligence has increased the demand for cloud computing services and data centers, because training artificial intelligence models requires large amounts of data, and the cloud provides access to large data sets. A data center is a facility where data resides.
Microsoft Tuesday Wider plans were also revealed to provide AI skills opportunities to 2.5 million people in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (whose members include Thailand and Indonesia) by 2025.
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