Tech giant Microsoft has partnered with India-based cloud infrastructure and platform services provider Yotta Data Services to bolster AI innovation in India.

This collaboration will see Microsoft integrating its Azure AI services with Yotta’s Shakti Cloud, thereby providing a comprehensive AI cloud platform to developers, startups, enterprises, and public sector organisations throughout the country.

The partnership offers a combination of Azure AI’s advanced AI models, applications, agents, and development environment with Yotta’s sovereign, cost-effective, and globally benchmarked AI compute platform.

Moreover, the collaboration aligns with the IndiaAI Mission’s objectives to enhance local AI capabilities, drive innovation, and strengthen the country’s AI infrastructure.

Since May 2025, the IndiaAI Mission has received over 500 proposals for the development of indigenous AI models.

Microsoft and Yotta will jointly work with government entities, research institutions, IITs, and startups to help advance the development of indigenous AI models that support India’s Digital Public Infrastructure.  

Microsoft India and South Asia president Puneet Chandok said: “Our partnership with Yotta to power Shakti Cloud will help unlock AI innovation at scale.

“Microsoft is honoured to play its part in helping the country realise its AI ambitions through innovation that reflect India’s unique needs and priorities. India is already among the top global markets on AI adoption and return on investment.

“Together with Yotta, we will continue to help India become an AI-first nation, securely and responsibly.”

The partnership combines Microsoft’s scalable Azure AI platform, ML Studio, Database and Application services, security portfolio, and GitHub with Yotta’s GPU infrastructure.

The goal is to deliver high-performance, low-latency AI solutions hosted within India, fostering a hybrid AI environment that emphasises safety, trust, and low latency.

This will enable developers and enterprises to develop and scale AI responsibly, while maintaining data sovereignty.

Customers of Shakti Cloud will gain access to a vast ecosystem and catalogue of foundational large language models and smaller language models available on Azure AI Foundry.

Yotta Data Services co-founder, CEO and managing director Sunil Gupta said: “This partnership is a key step forward towards India’s AI self-reliance and digital transformation, and we are excited to be able to support Indian enterprises in their journey towards AI excellence with a full gamut of offerings.

“The combined strength of Microsoft’s services backed by Yotta’s infrastructure gives access to some of the best capabilities to support AI development in the country. It will make cutting-edge AI capabilities accessible for Indian enterprises of all sizes and give a huge boost to driving the nation’s AI ambitions.”  

Earlier in May 2025, CNBC reported that Microsoft plans to cut approximately 3% of its global workforce, impacting around 6,000 employees across various levels, teams, and regions.

In January, Microsoft partnered with IndiaAI, a division of Digital India Corporation, to further AI and emerging technologies in India.