Microsoft has announced a $1.5 billion investment in G42, an Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate specializing in artificial intelligence (AI). The investment grants Microsoft minority ownership in G42 and a seat on its board, with Microsoft President Brad Smith taking the position. This move is part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to extend its cloud and AI technology reach into the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, regions that are currently underrepresented in the digital transformation landscape.
Expanding Cloud and AI Capabilities
Under this new partnership, G42 plans to migrate its data platforms and essential technological infrastructure to Microsoft’s Azure cloud services. This migration is poised to leverage Azure’s comprehensive AI tools, enhancing G42’s product development and service delivery. The collaboration also includes a joint $1 billion developer fund aimed at fostering innovation in the region. G42, known for its diverse operations across various sectors such as healthcare, public sector, and transportation, is an early adopter of Microsoft’s sovereign cloud platform. This platform caters to public sector organizations, ensuring compliance with local data privacy and residency regulations.
Fostering Regional Digital Transformation
The partnership aims to bring advanced low latency datacenter infrastructure to emerging markets, thereby accelerating digital transformation across key industries in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa. By providing expanded access to Microsoft’s cloud services and Azure compute capabilities, the initiative is expected to address critical business challenges in these regions while upholding the highest standards of security and privacy. Additionally, Microsoft plans to incorporate G42’s Arabic-language Large Language Model (LLM), Jais, into the Azure AI Studio model catalog, further enhancing the accessibility of cutting-edge AI products and services in the area.
The involvement with G42 marks another step in Microsoft’s wider investments in AI. The company has already been a $10 billion investor in OpenAI, and taken a seat on the company’s board. Microsoft has also recently invested heavily into French AI firm Mistral.
Last Updated on November 7, 2024 8:47 pm CET