Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hails Seattle’s tech growth, deepening India ties at ‘IDEAS4INDIA’ forum | India News
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella praised Seattle’s growing technology ecosystem and its deepening ties with India while addressing more than 40 Indian-origin tech CEOs and CTOs from across sectors, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing and enterprise software.Nadella was the guest of honour at the first ‘IDEAS4INDIA: Indian American Tech CEOs Forum | Unlocking the Tech Dividend’, organised by the Consulate General of India in Seattle under Consul General Prakash Gupta.
Consul General of India Prakash Gupta delivering welcome remarks.
The forum, held Thursday at the consulate premises, followed the India AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi in February. It brought together Indian-American technology leaders from the Greater Seattle area to discuss ways to strengthen the India-US technology partnership.Addressing the event, Nadella said he was proud to have watched the Seattle technology community grow over roughly 35 years and was pleased to see it forming and strengthening its relationship with India, the consulate said.He described artificial intelligence as a general-purpose technology whose benefits would depend on its broad diffusion across countries, communities and sectors.
CEO and Chairman of Microsoft, Satya Nadella hails Seattle’s tech growth.
The forum brought together technology leaders working across AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, aerospace and enterprise software.Participants included executives from Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, OpenAI, Anthropic, Intel, Veeam Software, Helion, Rhythms AI, Zenoti, Anicca Data and SeekOut, among others. Ajay Bhatt, the inventor of USB-C and a former Intel executive, also participated in the discussions.India’s ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra welcomed the participants’ interest in deepening the India-US technology partnership.Kwatra reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that India’s AI Mission remains anchored in “inclusivity, openness, sovereignty, democratized access, safety and trust”.
Ambassador Vinay Kwatra welcomed participants’ interest in deepening India-US tech ties.
During an interactive session, the technology executives shared ideas on strengthening cooperation in areas including AI infrastructure, data centres, semiconductor design and manufacturing, quantum research, talent and skilling, aerospace and advanced manufacturing.The discussions also highlighted the two-way nature of the technology relationship, with several companies represented at the forum maintaining significant engineering, research and business operations in India.The consulate said the forum is expected to become an important platform for strengthening India-US technology ties, including under the India-US TRUST Initiative (Transforming the Relationship Utilising Strategic Technology).Under the initiative, the two countries are working to connect their innovation ecosystems and advance collaboration in artificial intelligence, quantum technology, semiconductors, space, telecommunications and biotechnology.Several US technology companies have also announced major investments in India.Microsoft has announced an investment of $17.5 billion in India between 2026 and 2029, its largest investment in Asia, to expand cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling and operations.
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Amazon has announced a $48 billion investment between 2026 and 2030, including an expansion of AWS data centre capacity in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Costco is also setting up its first Global Capability Centre in Hyderabad, the consulate said.
A moment of silence.
The event began with a minute’s silence to honour two Indian-origin technology leaders from Seattle who recently died, Samir Bodas, co-founder and CEO of Icertis, and S Somasegar, managing director at Madrona Venture Group and former corporate vice president at Microsoft.They were remembered for their contributions to Seattle’s technology ecosystem and their support for Indian-origin startups.The Seattle Consulate described the gathering as a first-of-its-kind forum for Indian-American technology leaders in the region.
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