Microsoft and Yotta partner to accelerate India’s AI journey

Microsoft and Yotta Data Services have entered a strategic partnership to deliver powerful AI solutions hosted entirely within the country, to fast-track artificial intelligence (AI) development in India. This collaboration integrates Microsoft’s Azure AI services with Yotta’s Shakti Cloud. India’s sovereign AI infrastructure, offering developers, startups, enterprises, and government entities access to state-of-the-art AI tools and computing resources.

As part of this alliance, Microsoft will provide its suite of AI models, development platforms, and enterprise-ready tools through Azure AI, while Yotta will contribute the high-performance GPU infrastructure needed for training, inferencing, and deploying AI applications locally. The combined solution is designed to enable faster development of indigenous AI models while ensuring data sovereignty and compliance with national security frameworks.

The partnership directly supports the IndiaAI Mission, a national initiative aimed at building a robust AI ecosystem in India. As of May 2025, the initiative has attracted over 500 proposals focused on developing homegrown AI models tailored to India’s needs across various sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing, and finance. The joint platform from Microsoft and Yotta aims to bring these proposals to life by offering scalable infrastructure and development tools within the country.

One of the key goals of the partnership is to make cutting-edge AI more accessible to a broader spectrum of users. From public sector departments and academic institutions like IITs to fast-growing startups and large enterprises, the collaboration seeks to democratize access to powerful AI capabilities. Customers of Shakti Cloud will gain access to Azure AI Foundry’s catalogue of large and small language models, including tools for safe and responsible deployment such as content filters, groundedness detection, and copyright protection.

The partnership is also a step toward building a hybrid AI infrastructure in India, combining the benefits of global AI innovation with the assurances of local data hosting and low-latency access. Microsoft and Yotta are positioning this as a foundation for AI self-reliance and digital transformation, aligned with India’s broader vision of becoming an AI-first nation.

This effort builds on Microsoft’s earlier commitment to AI development in India, including a USD 3 billion investment in expanding cloud and AI infrastructure and establishing AI Centres of Excellence. And, by joining forces, Microsoft and Yotta aim to accelerate innovation and create a future-ready AI ecosystem rooted in trust, safety, and sovereign control.