Microsoft announced that it will invest an additional 5.4 billion Canadian dollars in Canada over the next two years to enhance the country's digital and artificial intelligence infrastructure. This investment brings Microsoft's total spending in Canada between 2023 and 2027 to 13.7 billion Canadian dollars. According to Microsoft's plan, the new cloud and artificial intelligence capabilities are expected to become available in the second half of next year.

Brad Smith, Microsoft's Vice Chairman and President, said this investment represents Microsoft's largest commitment to Canada since it opened its first office in Toronto in 1985. A key part of this investment is launching new initiatives to protect Canada's digital sovereignty and strengthen workforce training for the future era of artificial intelligence.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the news, stating that Microsoft's commitment will create high-paying jobs, drive Canada's innovation ecosystem, and help local researchers and businesses gain a competitive advantage globally. Smith mentioned that Canada currently ranks 14th in the world in AI adoption, but he emphasized that there is still a lot of work to be done to maintain this momentum.

This investment will expand Microsoft's Azure cloud computing services, including data centers in central and eastern Canada. The central region's headquarters is located in Toronto, which has been expanding since its launch in 2016; the eastern region is in Quebec, where Microsoft has confirmed plans to build new data centers in L'Ancienne-Lorette, Donnacona, Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, and Lévis this year.

Microsoft will also strengthen Canada's cybersecurity measures, including establishing a threat intelligence center in the capital, Ottawa, where experts will collaborate with government and law enforcement agencies to combat digital threats from criminals and organized groups. Additionally, Microsoft plans to ensure that data from its Canadian customers is processed locally, offering data processing services within the country, and launching an open-source sovereign AI landing zone, with the code publicly hosted on GitHub.

The company will also promote AI innovation in Canada, including integrating Cohere's advanced language models into Microsoft Foundry, and committing to helping 250,000 Canadians obtain "hot AI certificates" by the end of next year.

Smith concluded: "We believe that Canada has the capability to lead global responsible AI innovation and application, and we will fully support this process."

Key Points:

🌟 Microsoft will invest 5.4 billion Canadian dollars in Canada over the next two years to drive development of digital and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

🛡️ The newly established threat intelligence center will strengthen Canada's cybersecurity and protection of digital sovereignty.

🎓 Microsoft plans to help 250,000 Canadians obtain AI-related certifications by the end of next year, promoting workforce training.