Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Meets PM Modi: Pledges to Make India 'AI-First'

After Perplexity CEO, PM Modi Meets Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Last year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Softbank founder Masayoshi Son also met PM Modi Continuing his streak of meeting global tech leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (January 6), met Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The meeting focused on advancing India's ambitions in technology, innovation, and artificial intelligence (AI). Nadella, who shared insights from the meeting on X, thanked Modi, writing, "...Excited to build on our commitment to making India AI-first and work together on our continued expansion in the country to ensure every Indian benefits from this AI platform shift," in a post on X. Responding to Nadella, Modi said "It was indeed a delight to meet you, @satyanadella! Glad to know about Microsoft's ambitious expansion and investment plans in India. It was also wonderful discussing various aspects of tech, innovation, and AI in our meeting". This comes days after Modi met several key business leaders recently. On January 4, Modi met with Infosys CEO and entrepreneur Vishal Sikka, to discuss AI related topics. Last month, he met Perplexity's cofounder and CEO Aravind Srinivas as well. Last year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Softbank founder Masayoshi Son also met PM Modi. These high profile meetings are happening at the time when the Indian government is pushing for the growth of AI startups in India. In 2024, the union cabinet approved INR 10,372 Cr IndiaAI Mission, which will look to foster the homegrown AI ecosystem, facilitate funding for emerging AI startups and spur innovation in the sector. In December last year Centre also opened the second round of bids for its IndiaAI Mission to establish a compute capacity of up to 10,000 graphic processing units (GPUs), develop AI applications for critical sectors, and tackle challenges identified by the government. India is home to more than 200 GenAI startups and these startups raised more than $1.2 Bn in funding between 2020 and 2024. The homegrown GenAI market is projected to become a $17 Bn market opportunity by 2030.

Satya Nadella Meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vows to Make India AI-First Nation

Nadella is currently touring India as part of the Microsoft AI Tour, where he will be speaking in Bengaluru on January 7, 2025, and in New Delhi on January 8, 2025. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, commending his leadership and reiterating the company's commitment to AI-driven growth in India. "Thank you, PM Narendra Modi ji for your leadership. Excited to build on our commitment to making India AI-first and work together on our continued expansion in the country to ensure every Indian benefit from this AI platform shift," Nadella said in a post on X. In response, Modi said, "It was indeed a delight to meet you, Satya Nadella! Glad to know about Microsoft's ambitious expansion and investment plans in India. It was also wonderful discussing various aspects of tech, innovation and AI in our meeting." Nadella is currently touring India as part of the Microsoft AI Tour, where he will be speaking in Bengaluru on January 7, 2025, and in New Delhi on January 8, 2025. Last week, Nadella met with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in Hyderabad to discuss the state's technology priorities, including AI, generative AI, and cloud development. During his visit to India last year in February 2024, Nadella announced ambitious plans to train 2 million people in AI skills by 2025. This initiative, known as ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA, aims to address the AI skills gap and create new opportunities across the nation. Nadella's tour included meetings with top business leaders and government officials. In Mumbai, he highlighted the potential of AI to drive GDP growth, citing that out of India's targeted $5 trillion GDP by 2025, approximately $500 billion could be driven by AI. Microsoft India employs over 20,000 people across 10 cities, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, Delhi, Noida, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune, with Hyderabad alone accounting for half the workforce at 10,000 employees. For the fiscal year ending March 30, Microsoft's India business posted a 38.44% increase in net profit year-on-year, driven by the steady growth in cloud adoption and AI.