Microsoft will invest 33.7 billion Swedish crowns ($A4.83 billion) to expand its cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Sweden over a two-year period.

The investment, Microsoft’s biggest to date in Sweden, includes a pledge to help train some 250,000 people with AI skills, corresponding to 2.4 per cent of the population that will help boost the Nordic nation’s competitiveness, the company said.

“This announcement goes beyond technology, it’s a commitment to ensuring broad access to the tools and skills needed for Sweden’s people and economy to thrive in the AI era,” Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith said in a statement.

As part of its investment, Microsoft said it plans to deploy 20,000 of the most advanced graphics processing units (GPU), which speed up computer calculations, at its Swedish data centre sites in Sandviken, Gavle and Staffanstorp.

Smith was due to meet with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm later on Monday.

Microsoft said it was committed to boosting AI adoption across the Nordic region which in addition to Sweden includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway.

This post was originally published on Michael West.