Pulumi was utilized to build a serverless URL shortener application, leveraging managed Azure services to ensure efficient performance by placing data stores and HTTP endpoints close to end users. Initially, a non-distributed version was created with Cosmos DB for storing URL mappings and Azure Functions to manage HTTP requests. Despite Cosmos DB being more robust than necessary for a simple key-value store, its multi-region capabilities were advantageous for reducing latency in a global setup. The application was extended to multiple Azure regions using Azure Traffic Manager to distribute incoming traffic based on performance, thus optimizing response times. Although this setup improved latency overall, some regions like Tel-Aviv and Brisbane still faced higher response times due to geographical limitations and unexpected routing. The project demonstrated the capabilities of Pulumi and TypeScript in creating scalable, globally distributed applications by integrating cloud services efficiently.