Microsoft to Invest $50 Billion to Prevent AI Inequality

Microsoft will invest $50 billion by 2030 to expand AI access in lower‑income countries. This should tackle a widening global divide around using the technology.

The announcement was made at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, where government officials, technology executives, and AI researchers are discussing how to best use AI to solve global problems. “One thing that is clear this week at the summit in India is that success will require many deep partnerships,” Microsoft chair and president Brad Smith declared in a blog which was co-written by Natasha Crampton, VP and chief responsible AI officer. “These must span borders and bring people and organisations together across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.”

According to a report by Microsoft, AI usage in the more economically developed global north is roughly double that of the global south. The global south comprises developing, emerging, or lower-income countries located mainly in the southern hemisphere. The new $50 billion commitment will support AI infrastructure, such as data centres, and efforts to improve internet access in underserved regions.

“And this divide continues to widen,” Smith and Crampton said. “This disparity impacts not only national and regional economic growth, but whether AI can deliver on its broader promise of expanding opportunity and prosperity around the world.” Smith and Crampton emphasised the need for urgent, cross‑border cooperation to ensure AI benefits are widely shared.

“If AI is deployed broadly and used well by a young and growing population, it offers a real prospect for catch-up economic growth for the global south,” they said. “It might even provide the biggest such opportunity of the 21st century.” The commitment contrasts with the roughly $80 billion Microsoft invested in AI-enabled data centers in 2025, with more than half going to the US.