Microsoft commits A$25 billion to Australia by 2029

The investment is Microsoft’s largest-ever in Australia and builds on an A$5 billion commitment from October 2023. It includes expanding Azure AI supercomputing capacity by more than 140%, extending the Microsoft-ASD Cyber-Shield to additional government agencies, and training three million Australians in AI skills by 2028.

Microsoft has announced A$25 billion (approximately USD 18 billion) in capital and operational expenditure in Australia by the end of 2029, the company’s largest-ever commitment in the country.

The announcement was made by Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney on 23 April, during the Sydney stop of Microsoft’s global AI Tour.

The investment is underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian government, aligned with the government’s recently released expectations for data centre and AI infrastructure developers.

The headline figure comprises capital and operational expenditure across four areas. The largest component ...