Microsoft said it will launch a new Azure cloud region in Chile as part of what it describes as the most significant investment in its 28-year history in the country. The new data centres come under the “Transforma Chile” initiative that is expected to generate around USD 11.3 billion in new revenues and add an estimated 51,000 new jobs to the Chilean economy over the next 4 years, said the company, citing IDC research.

In a presentation featuring Chilean president Sebastian Pinera, Microsoft said the new data centres will be located near the capital Santiago, without providing further details. It said the “Transforma Chile” drive will serve to increase remote work communications and learning, improve reliability and scale of services from Chilean businesses, and empower individuals and the public and private sectors to innovate with the latest developer tools. 

The company has also developed a skilling plan for up to 180,000 Chileans as well as an Advisory Board with the Centro de Innovacion de Universidad Catolica Anacleto Angelini and a community of local leaders to create inclusive opportunities to succeed in the digital economy.

Lastly, Microsoft is establishing an agreement with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to explore how Artificial Intelligence and cloud services can help to further increase the discovery potential of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the future Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) at the Paranal Observatory.