Microsoft Says Will Set Up 10 AI Labs, Train 5 Lakh Youth in India

Microsoft India on Wednesday announced to set up Artificial Intelligence (AI) labs in 10 universities and train five lakh youth across the country in disrupting technologies.

The company also said it will upskill over 10,000 developers over the next three years.

"We believe AI will enable Indian businesses and more for India's progress, especially in education, skilling, healthcare and agriculture," said Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India.

Microsoft AI today is fuelling digital transformation for over 700 customers and 60 per cent customers are large manufacturing and financial services enterprises.

Over 700 partners have geared up to support the AI ecosystem, said the company.

Microsoft in December announced a three-year "Intelligent Cloud Hub" collaborative programme in India, for empowering institutes to skill students in AI and Cloud technologies.

India is one of the first countries to have such a programme in which Microsoft will support selected institutes that have the best-in-class infrastructure, curriculum and content, onsite training for faculty and students, access for participating students to Cloud and AI services, developmental tools and developer support.

In April 2018, the company announced the Microsoft Professional Programme (MPP) for the public.

This programme is helping in providing job-ready skills along with real-world experience to engineers as well as others who plan on improving their skills in AI and data science, using a series of online courses.

"Microsoft also believes that it is imperative to build higher awareness and capabilities on security, privacy, trust and accountability," said Maheshwari.