India: Tech giants Amazon and Microsoft have unveiled a combined $52.5 billion (£39.4 billion) investment plan in India, aiming to strengthen the country’s AI ecosystem, cloud infrastructure, and technology-driven economic growth.
Amazon announced that it will invest $35 billion in India by 2030, focusing on AI-driven digitisation, export growth, and job creation. This follows Microsoft’s $17.5 billion commitment to bolster India’s AI capabilities, announced a day earlier.
India has emerged as a major hub for AI and cloud infrastructure, attracting significant global tech investments in recent months. In October, Google revealed a $15 billion investment to build an AI data hub, while Intel partnered with Tata Electronics this week to kickstart the company’s $14 billion semiconductor manufacturing plans.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on welcomed the investments, stating that, “When it comes to AI, the world is optimistic about India.” Amazon’s $35 billion investment will build on its existing $40 billion in India, making it the country’s largest foreign investor. A significant portion of the funds will go into local cloud and AI infrastructure.
Microsoft’s new investment follows a $3 billion pledge earlier this year and includes a new hyperscale cloud region in Hyderabad, set to go live by mid-2026. The region will host centralised data centres, a crucial element of the AI value chain, providing advanced computing infrastructure while addressing concerns such as water scarcity.
The investment will also grant India access to Microsoft’s sovereign public cloud, enabling organisations to manage data and applications securely within the country. Microsoft aims to integrate AI into government platforms, supporting approximately 310 million informal workers.
This investment push coincides with India’s efforts to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing, supported by state-backed initiatives and generous government subsidies. While India remains behind global leaders like the US and China in AI development, its growing market of over a billion internet users and a large tech talent pool continue to attract substantial foreign investment.
India is also preparing to unveil its sovereign AI model in February next year, which is expected to further shape the country’s AI and digital infrastructure landscape.
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