Nadella meets PM Modi, commits $17.5 billion to India’s AI-first future

Chief executive officers (CEOs) of top American multinational firms — Microsoft, Cognizant and Intel — met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and promised investments in India. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella pledged an investment of $17.5 billion — the company’s highest in Asia — in India in the next four years till 2029.

In a post after meeting PM Modi, Nadella said, “Thank you PM @narendramodi for an inspiring conversation on India’s AI opportunity. To support the country’s ambitions, Microsoft is committing $17.5 billion — our largest investment ever in Asia — to help build the infrastructure, skills and sovereign capabilities needed for India’s AI-first future.”

The investments will primarily boost India’s AI capacities. “Had a very productive discussion with Satya Nadella. Happy to see India being the place where Microsoft will make its largest-ever investment in Asia. The youth of India will harness this opportunity to innovate and leverage the power of AI for a better planet,” Modi said.

The PM also met Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel Corporation, earlier in the day. Intel signalled a strong commitment to deepening its investments in India’s semiconductor ecosystem. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tata Group, which enables manufacturing, assembly and packaging of Intel-designed products at Tata Electronics’ upcoming fab and OSAT facilities, along with collaboration on advanced semiconductor packaging in India.

Through the partnership, in which Tata will provide manufacturing and packaging capabilities, Intel will be able to localise key parts of its supply chain. This will help accelerate India’s goal of becoming a global semiconductor hub and support growing local demand.

Official sources said Intel is also exploring the rapid expansion of AI-PC solutions for India’s fast-growing market, reinforcing its plan to position India as a major base in its future technology strategy.

Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S spoke about accelerating AI adoption and advancing education and skill development to enhance AI productivity.