Microsoft Corp. MSFT said Wednesday it’s planning to invest $500 million in expanding its hyperscale cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Quebec over the next two years. The software giant said it will increase the size of its local cloud infrastructure footprint across Canada by 750%. The company cited a study by Ernst & Young that found that Microsoft has more than 3,200 partners and cloud infrastructure accounts in Quebec and supports more than 57,000 jobs that contribute more than $6.4 billion annually to the region’s GDP. The investment will “accelerate the pace of AI innovation and enable Quebec organizations to further build on the significant capacity already in place across the province – including an existing datacentre region, launched in 2016,” the company said in a statement. As part of the plan, Microsoft will offer training in AI skills to people in Quebec and will work with KPMG Canada on providing cybersecurity protections for businesses. The stock was up 1% premarket and has gained 56% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 18%.
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