JAKARTA, April 30 — Microsoft announced today here that it will invest US$1.7 billion (RM8.1 billion) in Indonesia, with funds allocated for the developments of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services, Xinhua reported.

The company’s Chief Executive Satya Nadella said Microsoft will provide AI training for 840,000 people and support for the community of developers in the Southeast Asian country.

"US$1.7 billion to bring the newest and best AI infrastructure to Indonesia. So I am very, very happy,” said Nadella in his opening speech at Microsoft Build: AI Day at the Jakarta Convention Centre.

He explained that the investment will be disbursed over the next four years to improve cloud services and AI infrastructure in Indonesia, and investment would include the construction of a new data centre in the archipelagic country.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo welcomed and had a talk with delegations of Microsoft at the presidential palace in Jakarta today. They discussed cooperation between Microsoft and the Indonesian government on developing human resources and technology, with a focus on the field of AI. — Bernama-Xinhua