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Microsoft on Tuesday said it will pump $1.7 billion into Indonesia over the next four years to build new cloud and AI infrastructure. The announcement came as CEO Satya Nadella met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on the same day.
Microsoft said the funds will also go toward training 840,000 Indonesians in AI skills and supporting the local community of developers.
“This new generation of AI is reshaping how people live and work everywhere, including in Indonesia,” Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, said in a statement.
“The investments we are announcing today – spanning digital infrastructure, skilling, and support for developers – will help Indonesia thrive in this new era,” said Nadella.
Microsoft also said it will partner with governments, organizations and communities to provide AI skilling opportunities for 2.5 million people in Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states by 2025.
Nadella met with Jokowi in Jakarta on Tuesday to discuss topics including technological and AI breakthroughs that will help Indonesia progress, according to Indonesian news agency Antara.
Indonesia wants to become a developed country as set out in its Golden Indonesia 2045 Vision, which aims to make the country into a global economic powerhouse by 2045.
Microsoft’s investment will allow it to capitalize on the increasing demand for cloud computing services in Indonesia, as well as enabling the nation to capture economic and productivity opportunities arising from AI, the tech giant said.
Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy in January said that Indonesia faces huge challenges in leveling up its workforce to compete in a technological and globalized era.
Indonesia has a growing, young and tech-savvy population with Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – making up nearly 28% of the population, or 75.49 million people. The number of millennials, those born between 1981 and 1996, reached 69.9 million people, or 25.9% of the population.
Microsoft opened its first data center region in Indonesia in 2021 to meet customer needs for data to be stored in the country.