Microsoft has committed to investing $2.2 billion in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) services in Malaysia over the next four years.
The investment follows a series of similar commitments across the Asia Pacific region.
The latest investment announced by Microsoft is the company's largest in Malaysia over its 32-year history with the country. The company will use the money to build cloud and AI infrastructure, as well as upskilling 200,000 people in AI.
“We want to make sure we have world-class infrastructure right here in the country so that every organization and start-up can benefit,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
“We are committed to supporting Malaysia’s AI transformation and ensure it benefits all Malaysians,” Nadella added. “Our investments in digital infrastructure and skilling will help Malaysian businesses, communities, and developers apply the latest technology to drive inclusive economic growth and innovation across the country.”
The company has also committed to working with the Malaysian government to establish a national AI Center of Excellence and to enhance the nation's cybersecurity capabilities.
Microsoft announced plans for a Malaysian Azure cloud region in Kuala Lumpur back in 2021; the region is still listed as “coming soon” on the company’s website. The company recently acquired land in Johor for a new data center.
Plans for the Malaysia investment follow just days after the company committed to invest $1.7bn in Indonesia for cloud computing and AI and shared that it would be building a data center region in Thailand.
Microsoft further pledged to provide AI training for 2.5 million people in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam by 2025.
April saw the company announce plans to spend $2.9bn in Japan for data center capacity in the country and invest $1.5bn in UAE-based AI firm G42.
In Microsoft's recent FY24 Q3 earnings report, the company revealed that its cloud unit had surpassed $31.8 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 24 percent year over year. The quarter also saw a CapEx of 11.2 billion which was to "support cloud demand, including investments to scale our AI infrastructure." Microsoft expects this to continue to increase sequentially and to be driven by the company's spend on cloud and AI infrastructure.
