Over 200,000 students get free access to Microsoft AI tools as tech giant invests $7b in Singapore

SINGAPORE – More than 200,000 tertiary education students in Singapore will have free access to software giant Microsoft’s artificial intelligence tools for a year as part of the tech company’s plans to cement its ecosystem dominance.

In addition, the company is spending US$5.5 billion (S$7 billion) over the next few years to 2029 – its largest single commitment in the Republic yet – on its data-centre operations here to feed an increasing appetite for AI applications.

The investment is also Microsoft’s largest commitment for cloud and AI infrastructure in South-east Asia.

These commitments were announced on April 1 by Microsoft vice-chairman and president Brad Smith during a fireside chat at tech summit ATxInspire.

The tech firm is giving students free access to the Microsoft 365 premium plan, which typically costs $28.99 a month.

The plan includes Copilot, an AI assistant built into tools such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook to help users draft, summarise and analyse content.

Students can use these tools to turn lengthy written documents into presentation slides, analyse data trends in spreadsheets, and map out milestones for group projects to help members track their progress.

Students can sign up for access on its website from April 1 with a valid tertiary student e-mail address.

Mr Smith said he hopes access to AI tools will give students an edge as they further their education and improve their employability in the job market.

Regarding concerns about the impact of AI usage on students’ ability to learn, he said it is important for people to learn when they should use and when they should not use AI.

They should also learn how to combine the use of AI with their own creative and intellectual capabilities, he said in an interview with The Straits Times on March 31.

“It does start by giving students access to the tools themselves, because once the students have the tools, then they can start to pursue these broader conversations,” said Mr Smith.

Senior Minister of State for Education Janil Puthucheary said: “Baseline AI skills are increasingly becoming as fundamental as digital literacy. By equipping students with hands-on experience using AI tools and supporting educators to adopt them confidently, we are strengthening the foundations for Singapore’s future workforce, and training them to use AI with confidence, discernment and trust.”

Mr Smith pointed to Singapore’s high AI adoption rate as a key reason for the company’s US$5.5 billion investment, which will be used for current data centres and operations in Singapore.

This could include upgrading its cooling infrastructure and adding cutting-edge AI chips.

Around 60.9 per cent of Singapore’s working-age population had used a generative AI tool by the end of 2025, according to Microsoft’s 2025 AI Diffusion Report, ranking the Republic second in the world in terms of AI adoption.

“In terms of capital investments of this size, you’ll build it where there are people who use (AI)... So I think this is a testament to Singapore’s leadership on a global basis of putting AI to use,” said Mr Smith.

Elsewhere in South-east Asia, the tech giant is investing more than US$1 billion in Thailand from now till 2028, US$2.2 billion in Malaysia from 2024 to 2028, and US$1.7 billion in Indonesia in the same time period.

ST asked SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) if tertiary students who take up the free Microsoft 365 premium plan will still be eligible for the free six months’ access to premium AI tools for selected SkillsFuture courses, an initiative announced during Budget 2026.

SSG said details are being worked out, but observed that the Microsoft initiative targets tertiary students, while the SkillsFuture initiative targets adult learners.

The scheme, which is part of plans to help Singaporeans gain confidence to work with AI, will be rolled out from the second half of 2026.