- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
Microsoft expands its AI empire abroad
Microsoft, the tech titan most closely associated with AI, has announced nearly $10 billion in investments in artificial intelligence abroad in recent months, the price it is willing to pay to remain a top player in this crucial market.
The overnight success of OpenAI's ChatGPT thrust generative AI as Silicon Valley's latest tech revolution, lifting Microsoft, OpenAI's main backer, to become the world's most valuable company.
Since then, the maker of Windows and its rival Google have been competing furiously, rolling out tools that produce text, images or lines of code on the basis of a simple query.
Meta and Amazon have followed suit, with their own increasingly sophisticated models and AI assistants.
The bets have so far paid off, with Microsoft on Thursday again posting stellar earnings, which the company attributes to delivering on AI's promise.
Generative AI, which is being hyped as a new industrial revolution, "has taken on so much value, they can't afford to lose," said Jeremy Goldman, analyst at EMARKETER.
These big companies "have a war chest, and they feel they have to spend this money on AI, otherwise they'll no longer have the warchest," he added.
- 'iPhone moment' -
For now, however, AI is a potential winner for the cloud giants =- Amazon, Microsoft and Google -- thanks to their offerings of beefed-up applications that are offered to existing clients at an extra cost.
According to Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities, the new business should generate an additional $25-30 billion a year for Microsoft between now and 2025.
"We view this as Microsoft's 'iPhone Moment,'" Ives said as Microsoft pushes out its Copilot AI tools to clients.
"We see an acceleration of adoption for generative AI and Copilot activity which in turn is catalyzing more Azure cloud deal flow (for the company)," Ives said.
Since the emergence of ChatGPT in 2022, Microsoft has pushed the hardest into the AI space and it is still not letting up.
Since February, Microsoft has unveiled AI investments of $3.4 billion in Germany, $2.1 billion in Spain and $2.9 billion in Japan, over two years.
Under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella, the group intends to build AI-ready data centers, help train millions of people in AI and finance the energy infrastructure needed to supply its resource-hungry facilities.
"Microsoft calls on external partners, whereas Google relies more on its in-house teams," said Goldman.
He said overseas investments attract attention because they are substantial, but in the end, the main players are all spending so much money, "that it would be unrealistic to say their hopes are to dominate."
- 'Take bets' -
Microsoft also signed contracts with companies beyond its ally OpenAI, which has already received around $13 billion from the Windows developer, mainly in credits to access its Azure servers.
Under a multiyear agreement signed last February, hotly watched French AI start-up Mistral will receive an investment of 15 million euros.
Significantly, Microsoft will invest $1.5 billion in G42, an AI company based in the United Arab Emirates, and take a seat on its board of directors, in an operation encouraged by Washington.
According to the New York Times and Bloomberg, G42 has committed to abandon its Chinese partnerships in favor of US technology.
"At first, we thought the AI wars were going to be fought by a few players in search of a general AI capable of doing anything and everything," Goldman said.
"Now the market is starting to recognize that different models are going to be needed for different needs," he added.
Indeed, cloud companies are now emphasizing the variety of their offerings in this area.
Microsoft, for example, has just introduced Phi-3 Mini, the first in a new series of small models, adapted to simple tasks that can be carried out on a smartphone, for example.
Microsoft's approach to AI is to "take bets," said Goldman. The group is investing in different strategies, and "some of them are more likely to pay off."
L.Davis--AMWN