Microsoft to spend $3.2 billion in Australia as AI regulation looms
Microsoft said it will spend A$5 billion ($3.2 billion) expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing abilities in Australia over two years as part of a wide-ranging effort that includes skills training and cyber security.
The U.S. tech giant said it would raise its computing capacity in Australia by 250%, enabling the world's No. 13 economy to meet demand for cloud computing — the practice of storing data on a separate network — which was expected to double from 2022 to 2026 as AI became more prevalent.
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIIT DelhiIITD Certificate Programme in Data Science & Machine LearningVisitNorthwestern UniversityKellogg Post Graduate Certificate in Product ManagementVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Product ManagementVisit The spending amounts to a charm offensive by Microsoft in a country that began public consultation this year over regulation of AI, which stands for artificial intelligence but is a term often used to describe fast automation, since Microsoft-backed OpenAI stunned the technology world with lifelike language program ChatGPT in 2022.
Microsoft said that on top of the A$5 billion, it would support training 300,000 Australians in skills needed to «succeed in the digital economy» and expand a cyber threat information-sharing agreement with the country's cyber security agency, the Australian Signals Directorate.
«This is a major investment in the skills and workers of the future,» Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement issued by Microsoft. «We need to provide the skills to enable Australians to succeed in the jobs of the future.»
Microsoft Vice Chairman and President Brad Smith said the
