On October 2, 2024, Microsoft announced a €4.3 billion initiative over the next two years to expand its hyperscale cloud and AI datacenter infrastructure in Italy, marking its largest investment in the country so far. The initiative also includes providing digital skills training to over 1 million Italians by the end of 2025. The investment aims to help Italy leverage the opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI) and contribute to the country's long-term economic growth. Microsoft's data center expansion in Northern Italy will support the rising demand for AI compute and cloud services across the country. The investment will make Italy North one of Microsoft's largest datacenter regions in Europe and a key data hub for the Mediterranean and North Africa.