Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin (r) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (l) during the “Microsoft Build AI Day” event in Bangkok, May 1, 2024 (Royal Thai Government/AFP/Handout)
Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it would create an infrastructure in Thailand intended to boost the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing, promising to train more than 100,000 people.
Thailand has “an incredible opportunity to build a future” focused on digital technology and artificial intelligence, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in Bangkok.
The establishment of suitable data centers, “coupled with the investments we are making in cloud and AI infrastructure, as well as AI training, are the foundations of our long-term commitment in the country “, he added.
In a statement, Microsoft said their investments would “benefit more than 100,000 people in Thailand”, supporting the development of a community in this area.
A key economic player in Southeast Asia, Bangkok has nevertheless fallen behind in new technologies compared to Indonesia and Singapore.
On Tuesday, on a visit to Indonesia, Mr. Nadella announced an investment of 1.7 billion dollars (around 1.6 billion euros) in artificial intelligence and cloud computing to help develop the infrastructure of AI of the archipelago, after meeting the Indonesian president.
The Microsoft boss is due to meet Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin who is also pushing for the development of AI and cloud computing infrastructures.
According to a commission specializing in the subject, the development of a digital economy could contribute to around 30% of GDP by 2027.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin (r) during the “Microsoft Build AI Day” event in Bangkok, May 1, 2024 (Royal Thai Government/AFP/Handout)
Thailand is the final stop on Mr. Nadella’s Asian tour.
Microsoft, which achieved even better results than expected at the start of the year, has announced billions of dollars of investments in artificial intelligence abroad in recent months, the price to pay to remain one of the the most important players in this crucial market.
The success of ChatGPT from the start-up OpenAI has propelled generative AI to the forefront, but also Microsoft, OpenAI’s main funder.
© 2024 AFP
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