In a blog post outlining Microsoft’s commitment to AI, and as part of a larger strategy to counter China’s bold moves in the tech space, Microsoft Vice Chairman and President Brad Smith revealed plans to invest about $80 billion in AI-enabled data centers to train AI models worldwide.
He added that more than half of the total investment would be in the United States, reflecting Microsoft’s strong ties to its homeland and confidence in the American economy.
“In 2025, Microsoft is on track to invest approximately $80 billion to build out AI-enabled data centers to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications around the world,” Smith said.
US vs China Tech Race
Smith underlined the necessity for a strong international strategy to guarantee the U.S. maintains its lead in the global AI scene, even as he pointed out the growing competition between Chinese and American AI technologies, especially in developing countries.
He claims that the emergence of generative AI has increased competitiveness, especially given China’s quickly developing AI industry.
He likened this competition to how the telecom sector has changed over the past 20 years. Smith pointed out that Chinese firms surpassed their Western counterparts in the telecommunications industry thanks to significant government subsidies which helped them in establishing dependencies that threatened American national security.
He claimed that by providing subsidies for access to vital technologies like processors and pledging to establish local AI data centers in developing countries, China is currently imitating this approach in the field of artificial intelligence. Long-term integration of these countries into China’s AI ecosystem is the strategy’s goal.
“As we enter the second half of the decade, early signs suggest the Government of China is interested in replicating its successful telecommunications strategy.
“China is starting to offer developing countries subsidized access to scarce chips, and it’s promising to build local AI data centers. The Chinese wisely recognize that if a country standardizes on China’s AI platform, it likely will continue to rely on that platform in the future,” Smith noted.
Advice For The US
Smith stated that the United States should focus on winning the race ahead of the competition rather than whining about it. He claimed that in order to do this, the United States would need to act swiftly and forcefully to position American AI as a better substitute.
“The United States currently has multiple advantages. American companies currently have better technology, from chips to AI models to software applications.
“In addition, many U.S. companies, including Microsoft, have invested heavily in building AI that is more trustworthy than most products from China.
“We are designing AI technology that protects cybersecurity, privacy, digital safety, and other responsible uses of AI. And we are making this technology available around the world through data centres that meet the U.S. Government’s highest cyber and physical security standards,” he said.
Further Information
Smith also revealed that Microsoft is leading the charge to build out AI infrastructure around the world, having committed more than $35 billion to build secure and reliable AI and cloud data centers in 14 countries in three years, with a particular emphasis on areas where China’s Belt and Road Initiative has been active. He said that these investments are a component of a larger private-sector U.S. effort to guarantee that American AI technologies are available everywhere, especially in developing countries.
Smith expressed optimism that the amount of private capital investment in the United States greatly exceeds China’s capabilities, even though China is likely to continue its strategy of subsidizing the adoption of AI in emerging countries.
Smith asserted that the United States can maintain its lead in the global AI race and guarantee that US technologies serve as the foundation for AI adoption in underdeveloped nations by coordinating private-sector innovation with pro-private sector policies.