Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Planning December India Visit to Address AI Conferences and Meet Government Officials

Microsoft employs over 20,000 people across 10 cities throughout India.

New Delhi:

Satya Nadella, Microsoft's chief executive officer, is planning to visit India in December, marking his second trip to the South Asian nation this year. During this visit, he intends to meet with high-ranking government officials, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The sources revealed that Nadella will participate in two artificial intelligence conferences in Bengaluru and Mumbai, with additional meetings scheduled in New Delhi.

Microsoft did not provide a response when asked for comment.

The Indian-born CEO enjoys considerable popularity in India, similar to other major tech executives. In a country where engineering degrees are widely regarded as a pathway to economic success, Nadella holds significant influence.

His planned visit comes amid ongoing efforts between New Delhi and Washington to resolve trade differences. Simultaneously, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration are actively promoting local applications over those developed by U.S. companies. One such domestic alternative is Zoho, which offers more affordable cloud-based software solutions compared to Microsoft's products.

During his previous visit to India in January, Nadella announced a substantial $3 billion investment in AI and cloud capacity and held discussions with Prime Minister Modi.

Companies are increasingly focusing on artificial intelligence in India, where AI platforms such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, and Elon Musk's Grok have gained tremendous popularity. Microsoft's AI assistant Copilot has also seen widespread adoption, particularly in corporate environments.

Earlier this month, Google announced plans to invest $15 billion over five years to establish an AI data center in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

According to the second source, Nadella will likely meet with key customers and Indian employees during his upcoming visit. Microsoft currently employs more than 20,000 people across 10 cities in India.