The US technology company Microsoft plans to organize an international partner conference in the German city of Bonn in May.
The European edition of the international "Microsoft AI Partner Training Roadshow" will take place on May 22, the State Chancellery for the city of Dusseldorf said on Friday, making the city in state of North Rhine Westphalia the only venue in Europe.
Other international editions will take place in Tokyo in Japan, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru in India, and Santa Clara in California in the United States.
This is an excellent signal, North Rhine Westphalia Premier Hendrik Wüst said on Friday during a visit to the company in Redmond near Seattle in the US. "North Rhine Westphalia is on its way to becoming Europe's AI hotspot," Wüst said.
A few weeks ago, Microsoft announced the construction of data centres in the region worth billions of euros. A total of €3.2 billion ($3.4 billion) is involved, with a focus on the Rhineland region.
Wüst's visit to Microsoft is part of a trip to the US lasting several days. The focus was on artificial intelligence, defence policy and the film industry.
The delegation is scheduled to return to North Rhine Westphalia later Friday.