Australia joins laundry-list of countries Microsoft is investing in AI, partnering with Telstra

Microsoft has just recently announced its recent endeavor to develop AI & cloud infrastructures in Australia. The Windows maker said that it will use Telstra’s new high-speed Intercity Fibre Network to support the country’s growing AI demands.

In a press release published on Monday, Telstra, the Australian telecommunication company, also said that it’s deploying 21,000 Copilot for Microsoft 365 licenses for its employees, which is the largest nationwide.

“With around 1,800 kilometers of fibre already laid across the country, Telstra’s Intercity Fibre Network is undeniably about the future and will drive growth, connectivity, and digital prosperity,” says Telstra CEO Vicki Brady, who came to the position not too long ago in 2022.

Copilot for Microsoft 365 is the business tier of the whole Copilot AI subscription tiers. Besides enhanced enterprise-grade security and all Copilot features on MS365 apps, you also get Copilot on Teams, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Graph Grounding, and more.

Telstra has a strong presence in Australia, starting its operation about five decades ago. But, as AI continues to boom, anxieties over positions being replaced by technology get even more concerning so much so that even OpenAI boss is concerned about it.

As ABC Australia reported, Brady was previously criticized for cutting off 2,800 positions by the end of 2024 in favor of AI.

Microsoft has spent billions on investments in other countries’ AI and cloud infrastructures. Before Australia, the Redmond tech giant previously invested in Japan, the UAE, Indonesia, Germany, France, and more countries.