Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy along with Minister for IT & Industries D Sridhar Babu Thursday inaugurated a new campus of Microsoft as the company celebrated its 25 years in Hyderabad.
The 1.1 million sq ft Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified building in Gachibowli will house 2,500 additional employees.
Microsoft employs over 20,000 professionals in India, over half of whom work in Hyderabad. With the launch of the new building, Microsoft plans to hire another 4,800 employees, said sources, adding that Hyderabad is the company’s largest R&D hub outside its US headquarters.
On Thursday, Microsoft also announced the initiative to impart AI training to over 1.2 lakh persons in the state in partnership with the Telangana Government.
Under the ADVANTA(I)GE TELANGANA program, Microsoft will launch an AI Foundations Academy to introduce AI education in 500 government schools benefiting 50,000 students. Additionally, the AI-Industry Pro program will upskill 20,000 industry professionals across Telangana. The third program, AI-Govern initiative, will further train 50,000 government officials in critical areas such as digital productivity, Generative AI, and cybersecurity.
Also, Microsoft will establish and operate an AICoE (AI Centre of Excellence) in collaboration with the Government of Telangana and other stakeholders. This CoE will establish a cloud-based infrastructure for AI development, including a centralised AI Knowledge Hub. This repository would compile research, case studies, and best practices benefiting thousands of employees across the state.
Microsoft also announced the doubling of its investments in hyperscale AI data centres in the state with an additional investment of Rs 15,000 crore in the coming years.
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Speaking on the occasion, Revanth Reddy said, “Hyderabad and Microsoft have grown together, and as a proud representative of this state, I can say with certainty this is just the beginning. The world looks at Hyderabad today as a technology powerhouse, a city that nurtures innovation and attracts global talent. And with partners like Microsoft, the future is even brighter.”
“It is imperative that the future belongs to Artificial Intelligence. Microsoft and the Telangana Government are partners in launching ADVANTA(I) GE TELANGANA… This investment will strengthen our startup ecosystem and provide mentorship, AI tools, and access to a global network,” he added.
An MoU encompassing all the above initiatives was signed between the company and the ITE&C department and exchanged in the presence of the chief minister, and this is a direct outcome of the meeting between the CM and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in January 2025, where they agreed to work closely to modernise government IT and cloud infrastructure and fast track the development and adoption of AI solutions, a statement added.
“The new campus and the several AI-related initiatives launched by Microsoft reflects their commitment to sustainability, inclusivity and innovation in the state,” said the IT Minister.
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Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director and President, Microsoft India Development Centre, who was also present at the occasion, remarked, “The new building at the Microsoft India Development Center (IDC) in Hyderabad underscores our commitment to Telangana’s innovation ecosystem and India’s vision of becoming an AI-first nation. This expansion will provide state-of-the-art infrastructure to our teams, enabling them to innovate and develop next-generation AI products. We look forward to our partnership to accelerate digital transformation and AI skilling opportunities across the state.”
