SAN FRANCISCO, April 10 ― Microsoft yesterday announced a US$2.9 billion (RM13.8 billion) investment over the next two years in Japan to bolster the country's push into artificial intelligence.

The announcement coincides with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Washington, underscoring Tokyo's commitment to becoming a major AI power.

Microsoft has grown into a major player in the advancement of AI through its partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, propelling it past Apple as the world's biggest company by market capitalisation.

"This is Microsoft's single largest investment in its 46-year history in Japan,” said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft. "These investments are essential ingredients for Japan to build a robust AI Economy.”

The investment included providing "more advanced computing resources,” according to Smith, including powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) that are crucial for running AI applications.

Microsoft also pledged to invest in training three million Japanese workers in AI skills over the next three years, and announced the opening of its first Microsoft Research Asia lab in Tokyo that will work on AI and robotics.

Underling the growing importance of cybersecurity amid increased hacking and breaches, Microsoft also announced plans to collaborate with Japan's government to strengthen the country's cyber defences.

"The threat landscape for cybersecurity has become more challenging ... We're seeing that from China and from Russia in particular, but we're also seeing growing ransomware activity around the world,” Smith told the Nikkei news outlet. ― AFP