New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Wednesday visited the Microsoft India Development Centre (IDC) in Hyderabad, a centre of innovation that he envisioned in 1998.

IDC is celebrating its 25th year of groundbreaking research, engineering, and development, marking its pivotal role in shaping world-class products such as Azure, Windows, Office, Bing, Copilot, and other AI applications.

"It was rewarding to watch Bill address some of India's brightest engineering minds at IDC, our biggest asset," Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director, Microsoft IDC, and CVP, Experiences + Devices India, said in a statement.

"Echoing his optimism over the opportunity for an AI-powered India, IDC is excited to drive innovation from India for Microsoft - from AI and cloud to security and gaming," he added.

Earlier this week, Gates announced his plans to visit India in a LinkedIn post, saying, "I can’t wait to learn about how India is finding innovative new ways to advance health, digital public infrastructure, and climate to improve the lives of billions."

In his blog, the Microsoft co-founder mentioned that he is visiting this week to learn about "how we can continue working with India to help its ideas and inventions reach everyone who needs them, no matter where they live."

"This will be a main topic when I meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week," Gates added.