Microsoft has launched its first artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator program in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, which an expert said could become a flagship program for the local government.
Microsoft signed the Memorandum of Strategic Cooperation with Yubei district, northern Chongqing, agreeing to establish Microsoft Cloud, a mobile technology incubation program, local news site cqrb.cn reported on Saturday.
The program is expected to introduce no less than 50 corporations to China's big data and AI area, to offer them free training in Microsoft Cloud resources and related technology, and to assist qualified companies with obtaining financing, according to the report.
China is an attractive destination for technology giants like Microsoft and Google to build such programs, and Chongqing has a talent pool, location advantages and policy support to help such programs settle down, Xiang Ligang, chief executive of telecom industry news site cctime.com, told the Global Times on Monday.
"It could become a flagship program that the local government is keen on," Xiang said.
