Microsoft CEO Nadella announces plans to provide AI training to 2 million Indians

Microsoft has emerged as the world’s most valuable company, thanks to its foresighted bets and robust investments in AI. During a company event in Mumbai on Wednesday, its usually reserved CEO Satya Nadella expounded on the company’s successful AI offerings.

“With all the hype, GPT4 remains unmatched one year later,” said Nadella. “We are waiting for our competitors to catch up, which I’m sure they will eventually. However, the truth is we possess the leading Language Learning Model in the market.”

Addressing some of India’s prominent business leaders in a 35-minute keynote speech, Nadella encouraged them to leverage AI to enhance productivity and improve their offerings, while warning against falling behind in this critical area.

Nadella pressed India to intensify its focus on AI, citing its potential impact on the country’s GDP. “This new capability, AI, will influence GDP,” he asserted.

Satya Nadella, born in India, stated that the country has already risen to be the second-largest talent base for AI developers on GitHub. Microsoft’s India and South Asia head, Puneet Chandok, described India as not just incredible, but also credible. He emphasized that the country is anticipating big things and pursuing these aspirations unequivocally.

Microsoft further announced its intention to provide AI training opportunities to 2 million Indians in smaller cities and towns by next year. Nadella expressed hope for a consensus that would facilitate the spread of this technology and hence bring socio-economic advancement.

“For the first time, I feel there is no gap between what is happening in India and the rest of the world. If anything, the use cases here are so unique and are forging their own path,” Nadella remarked.

As an illustration of such unique offerings, Nadella pointed out Karya, an “ethical data company” that creates datasets in multiple Indian languages to train AI models. In doing so, it provides jobs and education to individuals in rural areas.