- Microsoft is on track to spend $5.5B on cloud and AI infrastructure and ongoing operations in Singapore from 2025 until the end of 2029
- Every tertiary student in Singapore to receive free Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Teachers and nonprofits upskilled through Microsoft Elevate free AI training
Singapore, 1 April 2026 | From 2025 until the end of 2029, Microsoft is on track to spend $5.5 billion to power Singapore’s AI future, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith announced today, alongside the expansion of Microsoft Elevate programs to provide AI tools and skills to tertiary students, teachers and nonprofits with responsible AI to uplift all communities in the AI era.
Microsoft is announcing a $5.5 billion USD investment in cloud and AI infrastructure and ongoing operations in Singapore during the five years from 2025 through 2029. As part of Microsoft’s commitment to enabling individuals and economies through technology, talent and trust, every tertiary education student in Singapore also now has free access to Microsoft 365 Premium with Copilot and the company’s suite of productivity tools, while all educators will be provided free AI training through Microsoft Elevate for Educators, and Microsoft Elevate for Changemakers will upskill nonprofit leaders. Together, these programs strengthen the education, workforce, and social impact systems for communities so more people can learn, work, and thrive in the AI economy.
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith was in Singapore to make these announcements and deliver a keynote at today’s Asia Tech x Inspire event, alongside IMDA Chairman Russell Tham, Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Dr. Janil Puthucheary, local leaders from public and private sectors along with students from across Singapore’s universities and vocational institutions.
“Our ongoing investment in cloud and AI infrastructure reflects Microsoft’s long-term confidence in Singapore as a global digital leader,” said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft. “Together, we’re focused on helping people and organizations use AI by strengthening skills, increasing cybersecurity and resilience, and advancing trusted governance so technology delivers real benefits for Singaporeans.”
These announcements to expand AI skilling and workforce readiness nationwide to put people at the centre of the AI opportunity are aligned to Singapore’s rapid adoption of AI, reinforcing its ranking at #2 globally in the recent AI Diffusion Report from the Microsoft Research AI Economy Institute.
Dr. Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment in Singapore, said: “Baseline AI skills are increasingly becoming as fundamental as digital literacy. By equipping students with a hands on experience using AI tools, and supporting our educators to adopt them confidently, we are strengthening the foundations for Singapore’s future workforce, and training them to use AI with confidence, discernment and trust.”
Powering Singapore’s AI Future
As part of its commitment to spend $5.5 billion in Singapore over five years to power the nation’s ambitions and AI future, Microsoft will invest in cloud and AI infrastructure and ongoing operations in Singapore. Microsoft will continue strengthening AI skills across sectors and communities, while increasing cybersecurity, resilience and trusted governance.
Brad Smith in a fireside chat at Asia Tech x Inspire in Singapore with Russell Tham, IMDA Chairman and Managing Director, Head of Emerging Technologies, Temasek.
Empowering every tertiary student with free, trusted AI tools
Microsoft 365 Premium with Copilot will be free for 12 months to every tertiary student in Singapore. The more than 200,000 students enrolled in university and vocational training institutions will have access to Microsoft 365 productivity tools with Copilot, Microsoft’s AI assistant, built right in – including in Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Tertiary students can sign up to access this free offer (valid tertiary email address required) from this Microsoft site.
Access to useful, trusted, secure AI built right into the flow of work will give students an edge as they further their education, and ultimately improve their employability in the evolving job market. This expansion follows the announcement of the offer for students in the United States at the White House’s AI Education Task Force meeting in recent months.
New Microsoft Elevate programs for educators and nonprofit leaders
As AI adoption accelerates, readiness remains uneven. Many institutions and communities lack the skills, guidance, or capacity to adopt AI responsibly and effectively. Microsoft Elevate helps address these gaps by bringing together trusted technology, free credentials, professional communities, and system level capacity building, delivered through partnerships that support long term, inclusive impact.
To build AI confidence in classrooms, Microsoft has expanded Microsoft Elevate for Educators to Singapore, a new program helping educators build confidence in using AI responsibly in the classroom – from primary and secondary schools to Institutes of Higher Learning. Aligned with Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0, the initiative supports AI literacy and trusted, inclusive adoption through foundational training, virtual workshops and a global educator community.
To strengthen nonprofit leadership with responsible AI, Microsoft Elevate for Changemakers has been introduced in Singapore to support nonprofit and social impact leaders driving real world AI adoption in service of their communities. Designed to meet organizations where they are, the program builds practical skills with free AI readiness credentials while strengthening internal capacity for responsible and effective use.
These targeted efforts build on Microsoft’s long-term commitment to upskilling the people of Singapore, including through initiatives delivered in partnership with Singapore Government agencies and organisations that have reached hundreds of thousands of workers across every sector.
Brad Smith with Microsoft Student Ambassadors at the AI-Empowering Education event in Singapore.
Latest advice for students, job-seekers, employees and leaders
New Economic Graph data from LinkedIn – a Microsoft company – shows that demand for AI literacy skills has grown in Singapore over 70% year-on-year. The latest insights released by LinkedIn today in the new book Open to Work; How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI, with a foreword contributed by Microsoft’s Brad Smith, show AI fluency has become a baseline expectation across organisations, regardless of role or function. The regions that pull ahead will ensure widespread access, widespread adoption, and widespread ability to innovate – including by prioritising lifelong learning and public-private partnerships, as Singapore does.
“The significant commitment Microsoft is making to Singapore reinforces its pivotal role as an AI innovation hub in Asia. We’re all-in on Singapore’s AI future, and access and skills will be fundamental to fully realising this nation’s ambitions. By embedding AI literacy into everyday learning and in how every sector from enterprise to nonprofits operate, we’re building on the National AI Strategy 2.0 to drive inclusive, trusted AI adoption for genuine impact,” said Wee Luen Chia, Managing Director, Microsoft Singapore.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
