Microsoft AI Tour 2025: Summary of the highlights

Microsoft gathered again with its main partners in Spain to celebrate the Microsoft AI Tour, a circuit of events held worldwide; this time, it was Madrid’s turn.

Plain Concepts, as a Premium sponsor, was there to attend this meeting of innovation and generative AI as the main pillar. Numerous specialists from the technology giant, as well as partners and experts, gathered in the Spanish capital to talk about the future of business and technology. Here are all the details!

In its second edition, the event brought together developers, IT professionals, and technical communities to deepen and train in generative AI within the network with responsible and safe practices, as well as to discover first-hand the company’s latest innovations. Paco Salcedo, president of Microsoft Spain, reviewed the company’s strategic axes and presented its training initiative, which aims to train one million people in AI in Spain by 2025.

The event featured 3 tracks divided into: AI for the enterprise, innovation and intelligent applications, which addressed specific topics such as the impact of agents in the workplace, Trustworthy AI, data security and governance, cutting-edge models, innovation in different sectors, “agentic” applications, etc.

In addition, this year we have added the AI Academy, a space to discover all that Copilot Chat and Agents can do for companies. Finally, there was the Connection Hub, where Plain Concepts welcomed all the visitors who came to our booth.

AI for all

77% of business leaders in Spain believe that knowledge of Artificial Intelligence is key to maintaining competitiveness. However, only 39% of professionals have received AI training from their company, according to data from Microsoft’s latest Employment Trends Report, which evidences the need to reduce this digital talent gap.

Paco Salcedo stressed that AI is an opportunity for the whole country, and therefore, Microsoft is going to focus on several lines of action:

• To have the best AI and cloud infrastructure.
• Encourage the adoption of technology to generate greater economic impact.
• Focus on responsible AI with better governance and cybersecurity.
• Develop a technology and services industry across the country.
• Train people to be the best professionals and take advantage of this opportunity.

In relation to the latter, Microsoft has communicated its commitment to reduce the digital talent gap, so it is establishing agreements with different companies, public administrations, social entities and educational institutions with the aim of facilitating access to AI training for free.

As part of this training initiative, Microsoft has established agreements with the Community of Madrid to train 100,000 students in AI skills, and with the Xunta de Galicia, for the training of 45,000 young job seekers, helping them to improve their job opportunities.

In parallel, Microsoft and Turismo de Andalucía have launched an initiative that makes free Responsible AI training available to the more than 450,000 workers in the Andalusian tourism sector and, together with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, have launched an action to provide training content to 50,000 SMEs.

The social impact of AI is also a key pillar of this strategy. Through its alliance with the Esplai Foundation, Microsoft has boosted the digital training of people in vulnerable situations, facilitating their integration into the labor market and boosting their personal and professional lives. In addition, together with the Princess of Girona Foundation and with the collaboration of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the company is providing AI training to 200,000 young people throughout Spain, strengthening their employability in an increasingly competitive labor market. The company has also established alliances with Santander X and Santander Open Academy to provide AI training to entrepreneurs, and has established training actions for companies through its channel of technology partners.

Additionally, and within the framework of Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, the company has launched the AI Skills Fest initiative. It is a global festival that starts on April 8 with a 24-hour AI learning event, which aims to achieve a Guinness record for the number of students doing this training simultaneously, followed by 50 days of continuous training, live events, hackathons, specialized sessions and hands-on workshops, aimed at both technology professionals and those seeking to specialize in AI.

All of this is very promising news for the future of artificial intelligence and technology for all, and Plain Concepts is going to be very present in the next steps of this adventure.