MCLEOD COMPUTING
Microsoft wins while Musk whines
Much of the gear used in the new data centres is imported directly by the tech giants, but the local economy will still benefit
13 March 2025 - 05:00
It was an invitation President Cyril Ramaphosa couldn’t possibly decline: the announcement last Thursday that Microsoft was investing R5.4bn in AI data centres in South Africa over three years.
So, a beaming Ramaphosa arrived at Microsoft’s Joburg offices to hear the announcement by the world’s largest software company that it was committing billions of rand — on top of billions already spent — to build new data centres with advanced AI capabilities to serve the African continent...
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