Nadella Tells Seattle Forum India Set to Lead World in Developers by 2030
Satya Nadella highlighted India's human capital and AI potential at a Seattle forum of over 40 Indian-origin tech CEOs, as Microsoft and Amazon commit billions to India.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella has reaffirmed the company's intent to back India's artificial intelligence ambitions, pointing to the country's talent pool as its defining strength and projecting that India will host the world's largest developer community by 2030.
Nadella was the guest of honour at "IDEAS4INDIA: Indian American Tech CEOs Forum | Unlocking the Tech Dividend", hosted in Seattle by the Consulate General of India. He said Microsoft would work on building the infrastructure, skills and sovereign capabilities required for an AI-first India.
The forum, organised as a follow-up to the India AI Impact Summit 2026, drew more than 40 Indian-origin chief executives and technology officers. Participants came from Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, OpenAI, Anthropic, Intel, Veeam Software, Helion, Rhythms AI, Zenoti, Anicca Data, SeekOut, Stanley, Viome Life Sciences, Edifecs, the Gates Foundation, Orange Theory, Stanley 1913, Blink Health, CoralBricks AI, Qubra.ai, Cantina Labs and Waymakers, among other firms in the Pacific Northwest.
In an interactive session, the executives put forward suggestions on strengthening technology ties between India and the United States. Their discussions spanned AI infrastructure and data centres, semiconductor design and manufacturing, quantum research collaboration, talent and skilling, and aerospace and advanced manufacturing.
India's Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Kwatra, welcomed what he described as the participants' strong desire to deepen the partnership and reiterated the government's commitment to keeping the India AI Mission anchored in inclusivity, openness, sovereignty, democratised access, safety and trust.
The meeting opened with a minute of silence for two Seattle-based Indian-origin technology figures who died recently — Samir Bodas, co-founder and CEO of Icertis, and S. Somasegar, managing director of Madrona Venture Group and a former corporate vice president at Microsoft. Participants recalled their role in expanding Seattle's technology ecosystem and backing Indian-origin startups. Padma Shri Ajay Bhatt, credited with inventing the USB-C drive and formerly with Intel, also took part.
The gathering underlined the two-way nature of the India-US technology relationship, with several of the companies represented maintaining substantial engineering, research and business operations in India. Microsoft has announced a USD 17.5 billion investment in the country over four years from 2026 to 2029 — its largest in Asia — covering cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling and operations. Amazon has committed a total of USD 48 billion between 2026 and 2030, including expanded AWS data centre capacity in Mumbai and Hyderabad, while Costco is setting up its first Global Capability Centre in Hyderabad.
This was the first such convening of Indian-American technology leaders in Seattle, and it is expected to serve as a continuing platform for the India-US technology partnership, including under the TRUST Initiative — Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology. Through that framework, the two countries are working to link their innovation ecosystems and pursue co-development and co-production in artificial intelligence, quantum, semiconductors, space, telecom and biotechnology.