Feb 25 (Reuters) - Microsoft ( MSFT ) has made an

undisclosed equity investment in Veeam Software as part of an

expanded partnership to build artificial intelligence products,

the cloud data company said on Tuesday.

Veeam's software is designed to help customers quickly

recover their data after cybersecurity incidents, ransomware

attacks or accidental data loss.

Its core product supports immutable backups to prevent

ransomware from modifying or deleting data, ensuring that clean

copies remain available for recovery even if hackers encrypt

files.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) had invested in cybersecurity firm Rubrik ( RBRK )

in 2021, which also offers data backup and recovery solutions.

Veeam said it would focus on research and development

investments and design collaboration, among others, with the

support of Microsoft ( MSFT ). It will also integrate Microsoft's ( MSFT ) AI

services into its products.

U.S. private equity firm Insight Partners, which is the

largest shareholder in Veeam, sold a $2 billion stake in the

company in a secondary sale valuing the firm at $15 billion, it

said in December last year.

Veeam was acquired by Insight Partners for about $5 billion

in 2020.

Founded in 2006, Veeam has more than 550,000 customers

globally including corporations such as Deloitte and Canon,

according to its website.