|
Jakarta is Nadella's first stop on a trip to Southeast Asian
countries aimed at promoting the U.S. company's generative AI
technology. He will go to Malaysia and Thailand later this week.
Microsoft's investment will "bring the latest and greatest AI
infrastructure to Indonesia," Nadella said.
"We're going to lead this wave in terms of AI infrastructure
that's needed," he added.
Nadella met outgoing President Joko Widodo and his cabinet
ministers earlier on Tuesday to discuss joint AI research and
talent development, Communications Minister Budi Arie Setiadi
told reporters.
Widodo suggested Microsoft base its data centres on the resort
island of Bali or in the new capital city Nusantara, which is
still under construction in the jungle of Borneo, the minister
said.
Microsoft will train 2.5 million people in Southeast Asia in AI
use by 2025, Nadella said, including 840,000 in Indonesia.
Microsoft is trying to expand its support for the development of
AI globally, including with a $2.9 billion investment in cloud
and AI infrastructure in Japan and a $1.5 billion investment in
UAE-based AI firm G42.
Nadella's Jakarta visit comes two weeks after Apple Inc CEO Tim
Cook met Widodo and said he would look into building a
manufacturing facility in Indonesia.
Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the
Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related
investment.
Last week, Microsoft beat Wall Street estimates for
third-quarter revenue and profit, driven by gains from adoption
of artificial intelligence across its cloud services.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Additional reporting by
Fransiska Nangoy; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Martin
Petty and Miral Fahmy)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
