India’s technology talent could help it build the world’s largest developer community by 2030, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said on Thursday, reaffirming the company’s commitment to strengthening the country’s artificial intelligence capabilities.
Speaking at an Indian-American technology leaders’ forum in Seattle, Nadella praised the “ingenuity of the human capital in India” and said Microsoft would support the infrastructure, skills and sovereign capabilities needed for the country’s AI-first future.
His remarks come against the backdrop of Microsoft’s announced $17.5 billion investment in India over four years, from 2026 to 2029. Its largest-ever investment in Asia is intended to advance cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling and operations.
Nadella was the Guest of Honour at “IDEAS4INDIA: Indian American Tech CEOs Forum | Unlocking the Tech Dividend”, hosted by the Consulate General of India in Seattle. Organised as a follow-up to the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the gathering sought to draw on the expertise of the Greater Seattle region’s Indian-American technology community.
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Read Now The Identity Project More than 40 Indian-origin CEOs and CTOs participated, with representatives from organisations including Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, OpenAI, Anthropic, Intel and Veeam Software. Several participants have spent more than three decades working across fields such as AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, aerospace and enterprise software.
The discussions focused on how that expertise could deepen India-US technology cooperation. Participants shared suggestions on AI infrastructure and data centres, semiconductor design and manufacturing, joint quantum research, talent development, aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, welcomed the participants’ “strong desire to further deepen India USA Tech partnership”. He said the Indian government was committed to working with stakeholders to keep its AI Mission anchored in “inclusivity, openness, sovereignty, democratized access, safety and trust”.
The gathering also highlighted the business and research links underpinning the partnership, with several participating companies maintaining substantial engineering, research and commercial operations in India.
Alongside Microsoft’s investment commitment, Amazon has announced plans to invest $48 billion between 2026 and 2030, including expanding AWS data centre capacity in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Costco is also establishing its first Global Capability Centre in Hyderabad.
The forum opened with a minute’s silence in memory of two Indian-origin technology leaders from Seattle who had recently died: Icertis Co-Founder and CEO Samir Bodas, and Madrona Venture Group Managing Director S. Somasegar, a former Microsoft Corporate Vice President. Participants recalled their contributions to Seattle’s technology ecosystem and their support for Indian-origin startups. Padma Shri recipient and former Intel technologist Ajay Bhatt also joined the deliberations.
The first such gathering convened in Seattle is expected to serve as a continuing platform for technology cooperation, including under the India-US TRUST initiative—“Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology”.
The initiative seeks to connect the two countries’ innovation ecosystems and advance collaboration, including co-development and co-production, across AI, quantum technology, semiconductors, space, telecom and biotechnology.
With inputs from ANI