Alexander Lewis 
Feb 08, 2024
As Microsoft’s massive investments in AI have transformed it into the world’s most valuable software comapany, Satya Nadella, Microsoft's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), disclosed the company's jaw-dropping plans during an event in Mumbai on Wednesday.
He revealed the company's plan to provide AI training opportunities to 2 million individuals in smaller cities and towns in India by the following year.
Read more: Microsoft internally rolls out Copilot to enhance AI integration among developers
He also urged India to increase its focus on AI, saying, “This new capability, AI, is going to have an impact on GDP.” Nadella highlighted India's growing talent pool of AI developers on GitHub, maintaining that the country has already become the second largest talent base in the AI landscape.
“We have the best model today … even with all the hoopla, one year after, GPT4 is better. We are waiting for the competition to arrive. It will arrive, I’m sure, but the fact [is] that we have the … leading LLM out there,” Nadella said.
Nadella emphasised the importance of businesses embracing AI to enhance productivity and improve their products during his keynote address to leaders of major Indian companies.
Additionally, Puneet Chandok, who recently joined Microsoft to lead its India and South Asia business, emphasised India's increasing significance in the AI space.
“India is not just incredible anymore. We are credible as well. India is starting to dream big, and going after this dream like our lives depend on it,” Chandok added.
Reflecting on the socio-economic progress of the country, he said “I hope consensus emerges and that is what really helps, in some sense, (with) the diffusion of this technology.”
“This is first time I feel what is happening in India and the rest of the world there is no gap. If anything, the use cases here are so unique and paving their own path,” Nadella added.
Nadella also emphasised a distinctive initiative called Karya, which is an "ethical data company" that generates datasets in various Indian languages to train AI models, as well as offering employment and education to individuals in rural areas.
