T'gana govt partners with Microsoft for AI push as it inaugurates new campus in Hyderabad

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Feb 13 inaugurated a new campus of Microsoft as the company celebrates its journey of 25 years in Hyderabad.

The state-of-the-art 1.1 million sq ft LEED-certified building at Gachibowli in the city's IT hub would house 2,500 additional employees.

Microsoft employs over 20,000 professionals in India, over half of which work in Hyderabad. With the launch of the new building, Microsoft plans to hire another 4,800 employees, an official release said.

On the occasion, Microsoft also announced another landmark initiative in partnership with the Government of Telangana to impart AI training to over 1.2 lakh people in the state.

Under the first program ADVANTA(I)GE TELANGANA, Microsoft is launching an AI Foundations Academy to introduce AI education to 500 government schools benefiting 50,000 students, it said.

Additionally, the AI-Industry Pro program will upskill 20,000 industry professionals across Telangana.

The third program AI-Govern initiative will further train 50,000 government officials in critical areas such as digital productivity, Generative AI and cybersecurity.

Microsoft will also establish and operate an AICoE (AI Centre of Excellence) in collaboration with the Government of Telangana and other stakeholders.

The CoE will establish cloud-based infrastructure for AI development including a centralized AI Knowledge Hub. This repository would compile research, case studies, and best practices benefiting thousands of employees across the state.

To support the growth of AI, Microsoft has further announced doubling of its investments in hyperscale AI data centers in the state with an additional investment of ₹15,000 crore in the coming years.

This will make Hyderabad region one of the largest data hubs of Microsoft globally.

These initiatives are in line with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s priority to make Hyderabad an AI Hub in the country, it said.

An MoU encompassing all the initiatives was signed between the company and the state's ITE&C department and exchanged in the presence of the CM and state IT Minister D Sridhar Babu.

This is a direct outcome of the recent meeting between the CM and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in January 2025 where they agreed to work closely to modernize government IT and cloud infrastructure. They also agreed to fast track the development and adoption of AI solutions, the release said.

Congratulating Microsoft on the occasion, the CM said, “Hyderabad and Microsoft have grown together and as a proud representative of the state, I can say with certainty this is just the beginning. The world looks at Hyderabad today as a technology powerhouse, a city that nurtures innovation and attracts global talent. And with partners like Microsoft the future is even brighter.”

Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director and President of Microsoft India Development Centre (IDC) said the new building at the Microsoft IDC in Hyderabad underscores the company's commitment to Telangana’s innovation ecosystem and India's vision of becoming an AI-first nation.

"This expansion will provide state-of-the-art infrastructure to our teams enabling them to innovate and develop next-generation AI products," he said.

He thanked the Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and IT Minister D Sridhar Babu for attending the event.

"We look forward to our partnership to accelerate digital transformation and AI skilling opportunities across the state," he said.

(PTI)