Microsoft announces another major investment in AI

WEB DESK: Microsoft has unveiled a significant investment plan, committing 33.7 billion kronor ($3.2 billion) over the next two years to enhance cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in Sweden. This marks the company’s largest investment in the country to date.

As part of this initiative, Microsoft aims to train 250,000 individuals by 2027, aiming to bolster AI knowledge and skills within the Swedish workforce. The investment will also see an expansion in the capacity of Microsoft’s three data centres located in Sandviken, Gävle, and Staffanstorp.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s President and Vice Chair, highlighted the strategic importance of this investment. “This is Microsoft’s largest investment in our history in Sweden,” Smith stated. “It will empower Sweden to develop world-leading AI data centre infrastructure.”

Smith also praised Sweden’s progressive energy policies, which have facilitated this investment. “A big part of the reason we’re able to do this is because of Sweden’s forward-looking energy policy, the plentiful access to green energy, whether it’s carbon-free or renewable energy,” he explained.

This move is part of a broader global strategy by Microsoft to expand its AI capabilities. Recent months have seen the tech giant commit to similar AI investments in other countries, including a €4 billion ($4.3 billion) investment in France, a $2.9 billion initiative in Japan, and projects in Indonesia and Malaysia.

In Sweden, Microsoft’s investment will include the deployment of over 20,000 graphic processing units (GPUs) essential for training AI models. This expansion is expected to significantly boost the capacity of the company’s data centres in the region.

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