Microsoft's $80 Billion AI Investment: A Bold Move in the Global AI Race

Microsoft reveals surprise plan to spend $80bn on AI data centers

Microsoft has revealed plans to invest $80 billion in AI data centers throughout the first half of 2025. Vice Chair and President Brad Smith took to a New Year blog post to boldly state the US's opportunity to "harness new technology to invigorate the nation's economy" is the greatest it has been since the advent of electricity. Speaking about AI's power to "drive innovation and boost productivity" across all sectors, Smith confirmed Microsoft is on track to invest $80 billion throughout its fiscal year 2025, which ends on June 30, 2025. The company's data center investments include cash to help train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications. Smith confirmed over half of the total investments will be destined for the US, adding Microsoft's plans are also helping to grow the country's economy by supporting the likes of competitors, chip suppliers, applications companies, systems integrators, service providers, software developers, construction firms, material manufacturers and more, who all play an important role in the successful deployment of AI data centers. It was also noted the 2019 AI Executive Order prioritized the integration of AI upskilling within educational curricula and educational grant applications - a perfect opportunity for Microsoft to boast it is committed to training 2.5 million American students, workers and community members with AI skills in 2025. AI upskilling programs are usually a highlight of investments. For example, when Microsoft decides to open a new data center, it typically aims to give back to the community in the form of training. Apart from investing in AI and upskilling the country's citizens, Microsoft's plans for America's economic success also include a third element: exporting. Smith noted China's efforts to become a leader in AI has put the US under pressure, and it must cooperate with "allies and friends" to maintain its position at the top. In 2024, Microsoft announced more than $35 billion in investments across 14 countries to build AI and cloud data center infrastructure. It's clear that Microsoft sees itself as having a vital role in helping the US maintain its AI momentum. Smith concluded: "The key to the future is to bring together the best of what we can offer across American society, from across our private sector, educational and non-profit institutions, and government."

Microsoft reveals plan to spend $80B building AI data centers in fiscal 2025 - SiliconANGLE

Microsoft reveals plan to spend $80B building AI data centers in fiscal 2025 Microsoft Corp. has revealed plans to invest more than $80 billion in the construction of data centers for artificial intelligence workloads during its current fiscal year, as part of an effort to cement its status as a leader in the fast-growing industry. The company announced its plans in a blog post Friday. Microsoft Chair and Vice President Brad Smith wrote that more than half of the money will be spent on data centers in the U.S. The company's fiscal year ends in June, which means that its spending plans are well under way. Smith wrote that the U.S. currently leads the global AI race thanks to a combination of investment from private capital and innovations by American companies, ranging from established enterprises to dynamic startups. "At Microsoft, we've seen this firsthand through our partnership with OpenAI, from rising firms such as Anthropic and xAI, and our own AI-enabled software platforms and applications," Smith said. Microsoft's data center investments will support both its own AI workloads and those of customers using the Azure cloud computing service to access graphics processing units built by Nvidia Corp. According to Smith, top-tier enterprises are rushing to spend billions of dollars on those resources, in order to train and run their AI models. The AI race was kicked off by the debut of OpenAI's insanely popular ChatGPT assistant, and it has sparked a desire for almost every major company to create its own generative AI applications. Microsoft has led the way. In addition to investing more than $13 billion in OpenAI, it has also developed its own AI models, which are incorporated into products such as Windows and Teams, along with models from OpenAI and other AI firms. During the first quarter of fiscal 2025, Microsoft reported around $20 billion in capital expenditures and assets acquired under finance leases globally, with $14.9 billion of that amount being spent on property and equipment. In October, the company's chief financial officer Amy Hood said this spending will increase sequentially in the second quarter. That month, analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha said they were expecting the company to commit approximately $63.2 billion on expenditure towards property and equipment during fiscal 2025, which would represent year-over-year growth of 42%. It remains to be seen when Microsoft would be able to recoup such a massive investment, but its AI-related revenue is growing fast. During the first quarter, revenue from Azure and other cloud services rose 33%, with 12% of that stemming from AI services, the company said. In his blog post, Smith called on incoming President Donald Trump to protect the U.S.'s leadership in AI by investing in education and helping to promote the use of American AI technologies globally. 'China is starting to offer developing countries subsidized access to scarce chips, and it's promising to build local AI data centers," Smith pointed out. "The Chinese wisely recognize that if a country standardizes on China's AI platform, it will likely continue to rely on that platform in future." According to Smith, the best way to respond is not by complaining, but by taking steps to ensure it wins the race. "This will require that we move quickly and effectively to promote American AI as a superior alternative," Smith added.

Microsoft surprises analysts with massive $80B AI investment plans

Rivals won't want to lag behind or spend too much on this unproven business. Microsoft is set to invest $80 billion in fiscal 2025 to expand its AI datacenter capabilities, Brad Smith, the company's president and vice chairman wrote in a blog post. Microsoft sees artificial intelligence as the next industrial revolution and wants to participate in it. While analysts certainly were aware of the software giant's AI ambitions, few if any expected the company to bet that much money on a technology that has yet to prove its profitability. "In FY 2025, Microsoft is on track to invest approximately $80 billion to build out AI-enabled datacenters to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications around the world," wrote Brad Smith in his blog post. "More than half of this total investment will be in the United States, reflecting our commitment to this country and our confidence in the American economy." Microsoft's move solidifies its position as a leader in AI, which is, of course, closely tied to its exclusive partnership with OpenAI. Naturally, this also means that OpenAI will benefit from this major investment. Analysts -- and possibly rivals like Google, Meta, and xAI -- probably never expected Microsoft to invest such a significant amount in AI, but that is exactly what is happening. "This is above most analysts estimates," wrote Ben Bajarin, CEO and Principal Analyst Creative Strategies. "Expect all their CapEx models to go up." While Microsoft disclosed that the investment will cover datacenters, it did not reveal whether this also includes power infrastructure for datacenters, which the company envisions to include both small and large nuclear power plants capable of powering small cities. As these are capital expenditures, and with plans to operate nuclear power facilities by 2028, the budget may also include spending on these plants. However, this remains speculative for now. When it comes to actual hardware spending, rumors suggest that Microsoft is one of Nvidia's primary customers for the Blackwell platform and is willing to invest in datacenter infrastructure involving 120 kW to rumored 140 kW cabinets (up from 40 kW today). Redesigning datacenters to accommodate such infrastructure is costly, but Microsoft appears well-prepared in terms of its willingness to spend. Microsoft's president sees AI as the next step in the industrial revolution, akin to the invention of the steam engine, which propelled the United Kingdom to the pinnacle of the global economy, and the widespread adoption of electricity in the United States, which eventually established America as the world's leading economy. As industries grow more complex and interconnected, AI is becoming a crucial technology across many sectors of the economy. "Today, the United States leads the global AI race thanks to the investment of private capital and innovations by American companies of all sizes, from dynamic start-ups to well-established enterprises," wrote Brad Smith. "At Microsoft, we have seen this firsthand through our partnership with OpenAI, from rising firms such as Anthropic and xAI, and our own AI-enabled software platforms and applications."

Microsoft commits to spending $80B on AI infra in 2025

With those whopping returns who could argue with the premis... oh wait The AI datacenter spending splurge looks likely to continue in 2025, with Microsoft alone saying it will invest $80 billion this year on building out infrastructure to train and deploy AI models. In a blog post that reads almost like a call to arms, Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith described AI as a "golden opportunity" for American economic competitiveness, claiming this is set to become a world-changing general-purpose technology. "AI offers not only new tools for people's work but also new ways to help people learn almost anything. We have the opportunity as a country to equip all Americans with the skills needed to use AI to pursue higher-paying jobs and more successful careers. This should be our national north star," he states in the post. Yet progress requires new alliances and large-scale infrastructure investments, Smith said, confirming Microsoft is intending to invest approximately $80 billion in AI-enabled datacenters around the world. More than half of this will be invested in the US, naturally. And Microsoft is not alone in this respect. Last year, Amazon reported that it was on track to spend $75 billion in capital expenditure during 2024, and even more in 2025. "The majority of it is for AWS and, specifically, the increased bumps here are really driven by generative AI," CEO Andy Jassy said in November. According to figures from Taiwan-based market watcher TrendForce, AI servers are projected to make up more than 70 percent of the total value of the server industry in 2025, adding up to about $298 billion. Shipments of servers targeting AI increased 46 percent during 2024, it claims, while for 2025 TrendForce forecasts that such hardware will see year-on-year growth of nearly 28 percent, while the proportion of these actual server shipments will increase to more than 15 percent of the total server market. This trend has also been followed for some time by analysts at Omdia, which in its most recent report late last year estimated that datacenter capex was on track for upwards of 40 percent growth for the whole of 2024, with servers representing nearly half of that, and expected to hit $225-230 billion in value. Looking ahead to this year, Omdia forecasts that AI systems will make up 20 percent of overall server shipments, but they will account for 73 percent of server capex spending, roughly aligning with TrendForce estimates. This is because servers procured for AI tend to be highly configured and therefore much more costly than those intended for other workloads, especially as Nvidia GPU accelerators can cost tens of thousands of dollars apiece. Omdia put a figure on this as well; it estimates that Nvidia's kit represented a whopping 43 percent of server capex during 2024, although it says the GPU giant will struggle to grow this share much further in 2025. Among other predictions, the analyst biz says that specialized AI cloud businesses will continue to spend in order to grow their share of the market, picking out CoreWeave in particular, which it reckons could outspend Oracle this year. How long this continues will depend on whether AI turns out to be yet another industry bubble waiting to burst. Qualms have already been raised about the sheer volume of investment dollars being swallowed by AI, with little to show for it so far. Omdia says that clients in highly regulated industries had told it that 2024 would not be the year when they had the necessary regulatory frameworks in place to go big on AI in production. Many were stuck running AI pilots last year, but are scheduled to begin deployment of industry-specific AI models this year, it claims. Some enterprise investment in 2024 was also limited by GPU availability, which will be significantly better in 2025. So the AI datacenter frenzy appears likely to continue for the near future, despite the warnings about the ballooning energy requirements this is driving, and the knock-on effect on the environment. Financial services biz Morgan Stanley issued a report last year estimating that the industry is likely to emit three times more greenhouse gases between now and the end of the decade than if generative AI tech had not been developed.

Microsoft expects to spend $80 billion on AI-enabled data centers over next 12 months

Microsoft's flagship store in New York.Adam Gray / Getty Images Microsoft plans to spend $80 billion in fiscal 2025 on the construction of data centers that can handle artificial intelligence workloads, the company said in a Friday blog post. Over half of the expected AI infrastructure spending will take place in the U.S., Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith wrote. Microsoft's 2025 fiscal year ends in June. "Today, the United States leads the global AI race thanks to the investment of private capital and innovations by American companies of all sizes, from dynamic start-ups to well-established enterprises," Smith said. "At Microsoft, we've seen this firsthand through our partnership with OpenAI, from rising firms such as Anthropic and xAI, and our own AI-enabled software platforms and applications." Several top-tier technology companies are rushing to spend billions on Nvidia graphics processing units for training and running AI models. The fast spread of OpenAI's ChatGPT assistant, which launched in late 2022, kicked off the AI race for companies to deliver their own generative AI capabilities. Having invested more than $13 billion in OpenAI, Microsoft provides cloud infrastructure to the startup and has incorporated its models into Windows, Teams and other products. Microsoft reported $20 billion in capital expenditures and assets acquired under finance leases worldwide, with $14.9 billion spent on property and equipment, in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Capital expenditures will increase sequentially in the fiscal second quarter, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said in October. The company's revenue from Azure and other cloud services grew 33% year over year, with 12 percentage points of that growth stemming from AI services. Smith called on President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration to protect the country's leadership in AI through education and the promotion of U.S. AI technologies abroad. "China is starting to offer developing countries subsidized access to scarce chips, and it's promising to build local AI data centers," Smith wrote. "The Chinese wisely recognize that if a country standardizes on China's AI platform, it likely will continue to rely on that platform in the future." He added, "The best response for the United States is not to complain about the competition but to ensure we win the race ahead. This will require that we move quickly and effectively to promote American AI as a superior alternative."

Microsoft plans to spend $80 billion on AI data centers by July

The tech giant is on track to invest $80 billion in AI-enabled data centers in fiscal year 2025, which ends on June 30, Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a blog post on Friday. The data centers will be used for training and deploying AI models and cloud-based applications. More than half of the investment will be focused in the U.S., Smith added. "As we look into the future, it's clear that artificial intelligence is poised to become a world-changing GPT [General-Purpose Technology]," Smith said. "AI promises to drive innovation and boost productivity in every sector of the economy. The United States is poised to stand at the forefront of this new technology wave, especially if it doubles down on its strengths and effectively partners internationally." The U.S. is the leader in "the global AI race" due to private capital investments and innovation by U.S.-based companies, Smith said, noting Microsoft's partnerships with ChatGPT maker OpenAI and the startup's rivals, Anthropic and xAI. Under the incoming Trump administration, Smith said the U.S. can "build on the foundational ideas set for AI policy" under the president-elect's first term, including the 2019 executive order on maintaining the U.S.'s AI leadership. He added that "America's technology success" requires a partnership between the government, the private sector, and educational and non-profit institutions. In October, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said on the company's post-earnings call that the tech giant had run into external constraints due to high demand for AI training and inferencing. Data center constraints left investors unimpressed by Microsoft's first fiscal quarter results, sending its shares down by over 5%. "[Data centers] don't get built overnight," Nadella said. "Even in Q2 for example, some of the demand issues we have, or rather our ability to fulfill demand is because of, in fact, external third-party stuff that we leased moving up. That's the constraints we have." However, Nadella said he felt "pretty good" going into the second half of the fiscal year that some supply would catch up with demand.

Microsoft preparing to spend $80 billion on new AI data centers in 2025 alone

TL;DR: Microsoft is investing $80 billion to build AI data centers to enhance AI model training and cloud-based applications globally. This initiative aims to position the United States at the forefront of AI technology and economic competitiveness. The announcement coincides with President Trump's return to the White House and the New Year celebrations. Microsoft is celebrating the New Year, President Trump returning to the White House, and a new "golden opportunity" for American technology and economic competitiveness with the announcement of $80 billion of funds at the ready to create new AI data centers. The company has marked $80 billion to build AI data centers ready for AI workloads of the future, in order to "train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications around the world". Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith explained in a blog post: "As we look into the future, it's clear that artificial intelligence is poised to become a world-changing GPT. AI promises to drive innovation and boost productivity in every sector of the economy. The United States is poised to stand at the forefront of this new technology wave, especially if it doubles down on its strengths and effectively partners internationally". It was only a couple of months ago that we were reporting news of Microsoft and ChatGPT maker OpenAI teaming up for an insane $100 billion AI supercomputer codenamed Stargate, and now the Windows giant is putting aside $80B to build out next-gen AI data centers. What a start to the year, days before CES 2025.

Microsoft expects to spend $80 billion on AI-enabled data centers in fiscal 2025

Microsoft expects to spend $80 billion in fiscal 2025 on the construction of data centers that can handle artificial intelligence workloads, the company said in a Friday blog post. Over half of Microsoft's $80 billion in spending will take place in the U.S., Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith wrote. Microsoft's 2025 fiscal year ends in June. "Today, the United States leads the global AI race thanks to the investment of private capital and innovations by American companies of all sizes, from dynamic start-ups to well-established enterprises," Smith said. "At Microsoft, we've seen this firsthand through our partnership with OpenAI, from rising firms such as Anthropic and xAI, and our own AI-enabled software platforms and applications." Several top-tier technology companies are rushing to spend billions on Nvidia graphics processing units for training and running AI models. The fast spread of OpenAI's ChatGPT assistant, which launched in late 2022, kicked off the AI race for companies to deliver their own generative AI capabilities. Microsoft reported $20 billion in capital expenditures and assets acquired under finance leases worldwide, with $14.9 billion spent on property and equipment, in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Capital expenditures will increase sequentially in the fiscal second quarter, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said in October.

Microsoft plans on investing $80,000,000,000 in AI this year, with no sign of the machine learning spending spree stalling just yet

More money for more servers and coders. Probably more money for Copilot and Recall too, sadly. Nobody would deny that big tech requires huge investments to kickstart them and keep the ball rolling, but at some point, multi-billion dollar expenditures require some kind of return before they become a lost cause. In the case of Microsoft and AI, that's not something being considered, as the software giant plans on spending $80 billion dollars on machine learning technology this year. Microsoft casually dropped the monstrously huge sum of money in a long-winded blog by Brad Smith, Vice Chair & President of Microsoft, titled 'The Golden Opportunity for American AI' (via The Register). It starts by making it clear that AI is very much the number one focus right now, and that advances in AI technology and infrastructure need to continue. Microsoft also wants to promote training programs to get more people working in the field and it also wants America, as a whole, to export its AI systems to "allies and friends." To ensure all this happens, "Microsoft is on track to invest approximately $80 billion to build out AI-enabled datacenters to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications around the world." That kind of money makes the $10 billion it invested in OpenAI, back in 2023, seem like chump change. It's equivalent to almost all of Microsoft's net income in 2024. I know ridiculously large sums of money and AI just seem to be the norm these days, but $80 billion really is bonkers. No company would spend that kind of money, though, if it didn't have a clear plan on how to recoup the investment and make a decent return from it. So what can we expect to see from Microsoft in this regard? In its most recent financial statement, CEO Satya Nadella notes that "[our] growth depends on securely delivering continuous innovation and advancing our leading productivity and collaboration tools and services, including Microsoft 365, LinkedIn, and Dynamics 365" and that "digital transformation and adoption of AI continues to revolutionize more business workstreams for organizations in every sector across the globe." In other words, since AI is already front-and-centre in every software package that Microsoft makes right now, one should expect to see it being promoted even more so. If you were hoping that the lacklustre sales of AI-ready PCs would mean the end of Copilot and Recall, then you're going to be disappointed. The blog also talks about how Microsoft expects AI to eventually become another GPT or general-purpose technology because AI will apparently just be like electricity, ironworking, and computer chips in the same way they've "boost[ed] innovation and productivity across the economy." To me, that sounds like Microsoft wants its Azure AI service to be ubiquitous in the business world, with every company tapping into its machine learning subscription services. PC gaming has, so far, avoided the full onslaught of AI, LLMs, and whatnot, but I wouldn't be surprised if 2025 is the year that it really kicks off. It'll be interesting to see what AI stuff gets mentioned at CES this week because it will give us a clue as to how bad (or good, let's be fair here) things might become.

Microsoft expects to spend $80 billion on AI this fiscal year

Microsoft president Brad Smith on Friday said the company is on track to pump about $80 billion into artificial intelligence (AI) this fiscal year. For its part, Microsoft is on pace to invest about $80 billion this year to build out AI datacenters, train AI models and deploy cloud-based applications around the world, according to Smith.Microsoft president Brad Smith on Friday said the company is on track to pump about $80 billion into artificial intelligence (AI) this fiscal year. Smith contended AI is poised to transform all aspects of life, and it is imperative that the United States be the global leader when it comes to the technology, he wrote in an online post. "In many ways, artificial intelligence is the electricity of our age, and the next four years can build a foundation for America's economic success for the next quarter century," Smith said. "The United States is poised to stand at the forefront of this new technology wave, especially if it doubles down on its strengths and effectively partners internationally." Smith called on President-elect Donald Trump and Congress to expand support for AI innovation with moves such as increased funding for research at universities and the National Science Foundation. China and the United States are racing to spread their AI systems to other countries in an effort to become the de facto standard, according to Smith. "Given the nature of technology markets and their potential network effects, this race between the US and China for international influence likely will be won by the fastest first mover," Smith reasoned. "Hence, the United States needs a smart international strategy to rapidly support American AI around the world." China has started offering developing countries subsidized access to scarce computer chips and help building local AI datacenters, according to Smith. "The Chinese wisely recognize that if a country standardizes on China's AI platform, it likely will continue to rely on that platform in the future," Smith said. The US should move quickly to promote its AI technology as superior and more trustworthy, enlisting allies in the effort, he recommended. For its part, Microsoft is on pace to invest about $80 billion this year to build out AI datacenters, train AI models and deploy cloud-based applications around the world, according to Smith. Microsoft's 2025 fiscal year ends at the close of June. Microsoft rivals Amazon, Google, and OpenAI have also been spending billions of dollars on AI even though it remains unclear how and when they expect to profit from those investments.

Microsoft to spend $80 billion in FY'25 on data centers for AI | TechCrunch

Microsoft has earmarked $80 billion in fiscal 2025 to build data centers designed to handle artificial intelligence workloads, according to a company blog post. Specifically, the tech giant plans to build out AI-enabled datacenters "to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications around the world." Of that $80 billion allocation, more than half will be spent in the United States, according to Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. The tech giant's 2025 fiscal year ends in June. "As we look into the future, it's clear that artificial intelligence is poised to become a world-changing GPT. AI promises to drive innovation and boost productivity in every sector of the economy," Smith wrote. "The United States is poised to stand at the forefront of this new technology wave, especially if it doubles down on its strengths and effectively partners internationally." Microsoft and OpenAI were reportedly in talks in April regarding the construction of a data center facility that would contain an AI supercomputer dubbed Stargate. The facility was estimated to cost over $100 billion to build. Notably, later in the year,Microsoft called the startup a "competitor" for the first time in an SEC filing. AI's insatiable thirst for electricity is expected to surge in the coming years, potentially leading to power shortages for data centers.

Microsoft to Invest $80 Billion in AI-Focused Data Centers Amid 'Golden Opportunity' | PYMNTS.com

Microsoft plans to invest $80 billion to build data centers in fiscal 2025, aiming to use them to power the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI). The company is doing so amid a "golden opportunity for American AI," Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith wrote in a Friday (Jan. 3) blog post. More than half of this investment in AI infrastructure will be deployed in the United States, according to the post. "The massive datacenters that make all this possible are being built by construction firms, steel and other manufacturers, and innovative advances in electricity and liquid cooling, all reliant on large numbers of skilled electricians and pipefitters, including members of organized labor unions," Smith wrote. It was reported Thursday (Jan. 2) that demand for AI chips drove chipmaker Nvidia to become 2024's biggest global gainer in terms of market capitalization. Nvidia's market cap leapt from $1.2 trillion at the end of 2023 to $3.28 trillion at the end of 2024. The AI race transformed the tech industry in 2024, with AI moving beyond hype and becoming the foundation of modern technology companies, PYMNTS reported Wednesday (Jan. 1). Together with investment in AI infrastructure, Smith wrote in his Friday blog post that the U.S. needs to promote skilling programs to enable the widespread adoption of AI. For its part, Microsoft plans to train 2.5 million Americans with AI skills, according to the post. "AI, like all new technologies, will disrupt the economy and displace some jobs," Smith wrote. "But as we've working on skilling initiatives during the past few years, our confidence has grown that AI will create new opportunities that will outweigh many of the challenges ahead." A third element that can advance "American AI" is a focus on exporting that AI to allies and friends around the world, per the post. While protecting sensitive AI components through export controls, the U.S. should also develop a strategy to support American AI throughout the world and win the race with China in the international marketplace, the post said. "The United States cannot afford to slow its own private sector with heavy-handed regulations," Smith wrote. "The country instead needs a pragmatic export control policy that balances strong security protection for AI components in trusted datacenters with an ability for U.S. companies to expand rapidly and provide a reliable source of supply to the many countries that are American allies and friends."

Microsoft to Invest $80 Billion on AI-Enabled Data Centres in 2025

More than half of Microsoft's $80 billion investment will be in the US Microsoft is planning to invest about $80 billion (roughly Rs. 6,86,200 crore) in fiscal 2025 on developing data centers to train artificial intelligence (AI) models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications, the company said in a blog post on Friday. Investment in AI has surged since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, as companies across sectors seek to integrate artificial intelligence into their products and services. AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for specialized data centers that enable tech companies to link thousands of chips together in clusters. Microsoft has been investing billions to enhance its AI infrastructure and broaden its data-center network. Analysts expect Microsoft's fiscal 2025 capital expenditure including capital leases to be $84.24 billion (roughly Rs. 7,20,475 crore), according to Visible Alpha. The company's capital expenditure in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 rose 5.3% to $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,71,541 crore). As OpenAI's primary backer, the tech giant is considered a leading contender among Big Tech companies in the AI race due to its exclusive partnership with the AI chatbot maker. More than half of Microsoft's $80 billion (roughly Rs. 6,86,200 crore) investment will be in the United States, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said in the blog post. "Today, the United States leads the global AI race thanks to the investment of private capital and innovations by American companies of all sizes, from dynamic start-ups to well-established enterprises," Smith said. © Thomson Reuters 2024

Microsoft to invest $80 billion in AI-focused data centers by 2025 By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced plans to invest $80 billion in the construction of data centers that can handle artificial intelligence (AI) workloads by fiscal 2025. The majority of this investment, over half of the total amount, will be allocated to projects within the United States. The company's announcement comes amid a surge in technology companies investing heavily in Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s graphics processing units. These units are used for training and running AI models. The AI race among companies was sparked by the rapid spread of OpenAI's ChatGPT assistant, which was launched in late 2022. In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, Microsoft reported $20 billion in capital expenditures and assets acquired under finance leases worldwide. Of this, $14.9 billion was spent on property and equipment. Microsoft's Chief Financial Officer, Amy Hood, stated in October that capital expenditures are expected to increase sequentially in the fiscal second quarter.

Microsoft to Spend $80 Billion on AI Data Centers This Year

Microsoft Corp. plans to spend $80 billion this fiscal year building out data centers, underscoring the intense capital requirements of artificial intelligence. More than half of this projected spending through June 2025 will be in the US, Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote in a blog post Friday. Recent AI progress is thanks to "large-scale infrastructure investments that serve as the essential foundation of AI innovation and use," Smith wrote.

Microsoft Eyes $80B AI Investment This Fiscal Year

'More than half of this total investment will be in the United States, reflecting our commitment to this country and our confidence in the American economy,' says Microsoft President Brad Smith. Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith has revealed that the tech giant plans to invest about $80 billion in data centers this fiscal year for training artificial intelligence models and deploying AI and cloud-based applications worldwide while touting the vendor's extensive partner ecosystem. Smith shared the figure in a Friday blog post that also called on the incoming Trump administration to help support the emerging market, where the Redmond, Wash.-based vendor has taken a leadership position. Microsoft's fiscal year started July 1. "More than half of this total investment will be in the United States, reflecting our commitment to this country and our confidence in the American economy," Smith said. [RELATED: Microsoft CEO: AI Provides 'On-Ramp' To Azure Data Services, Copilot Continues To Surge] CRN has reached out to Microsoft for comment. Smith said that Microsoft's AI success "depends on a broad and competitive technology ecosystem" that includes its "longstanding" systems integrator and service provider partners. The executive reiterated Microsoft's goal to invest more than $35 billion to build AI and cloud data center infrastructure in 14 countries within three years in the blog post and said that AI will create jobs in "not just services but manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, government and every other part of the economy." Microsoft is also investing in training 2.5 million American students, workers and community members in 2025 with AI skills. During Microsoft's latest quarterly earnings report in October, the vendor revealed that its AI business is on track to surpass an annual run rate of $10 billion in its second fiscal quarter. Microsoft revealed during the quarterly earnings call that it spent about $20 billion during the quarter, which included finance leases. In the post, Smith also called on the incoming Trump administration to continue work strengthening the American AI market that occurred under the president's first term. Smith said that Trump's 2019 executive order on AI "rightly focused on federal investments in AI research and making federal data and computing resources more accessible." "Five years later, President Trump and Congress should expand on these efforts to support advancing America's AI leadership," Smith said. "More funding for basic research at the National Science Foundation and through our universities is one good place to start." Smith asked Trump to avoid "heavy-handed regulations" that could slow U.S. AI companies in exporting AI worldwide and competing with Chinese counterparts. Smith points to China and Huawei's success taking telecommunications equipment market share through government subsidies, innovation and exports to the developing world. "The country instead needs a pragmatic export control policy that balances strong security protection for AI components in trusted data centers with an ability for U.S. companies to expand rapidly and provide a reliable source of supply to the many countries that are American allies and friends," Smith said.

Microsoft is spending $80 billion on data centers this year

Microsoft has published a lengthy piece talking about its vision for artificial intelligence development over the next four years, under the incoming Trump administration. In the piece, the company has revealed that it's spending a total of $80 billion on AI-enabled data centers in 2025. Microsoft said it's building out the data centers to be able to train and deploy AI models, as well as to power its cloud-based applications. While that's the entirety of its budget for projects around the world, more than half of it will go towards building data centers in the United States. The company explained that none of the progress on AI the industry has achieved thus far would be possible "without new partnerships founded on large-scale infrastructure investments." It's now calling for the incoming Trump administration to expand the government's support for the advancement of AI within the US, such as providing the National Science Foundation and US universities more funding for research. Microsoft admitted in the piece that it knows AI will "disrupt the economy and displace some jobs," but it also said its "confidence has grown that AI will create new opportunities that will outweigh many of the challenges ahead." The key, Microsoft explained, is to train Americans so that they'd be able to use AI as a tool for their jobs, similar to how they're currently using smartphones and laptops. Finally, it said that the third critical priority for 2025 is the promotion of American AI exports. There will be a race between the United States and China to spread their technologies to other countries, so the US needs a smart strategy because the race "will be won by the fastest first mover."

Microsoft to Spend $80 Billion on AI Data Centers This Year

(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. plans to spend $80 billion this fiscal year building out data centers, underscoring the intense capital requirements of artificial intelligence. More than half of this projected spending through June 2025 will be in the US, Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote in a blog post Friday. Recent AI progress is thanks to "large-scale infrastructure investments that serve as the essential foundation of AI innovation and use," Smith wrote. Cloud infrastructure providers like Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. have been racing to expand computing capacity by constructing new data centers. In the previous fiscal year ending in June 2024, Microsoft spent more than $50 billion on capital expenditures, the vast majority related to server farm construction fueled by demand for artificial intelligence services. More: Why Artificial Intelligence Is So Costly to Develop: QuickTake Smith also cautioned the incoming Trump administration against "heavy-handed regulations" related to AI. "The most important US public-policy priority should be to ensure that the US private sector can continue to advance with the wind at its back," Smith wrote. The country needs "a pragmatic export control policy that balances strong security protection for AI components in trusted data centers with an ability for US companies to expand rapidly and provide a reliable source of supply to the many countries that are American allies and friends," Smith wrote. Much of the spending on data centers goes toward high-powered chips from companies including Nvidia Corp. and infrastructure providers such as Dell Technologies Inc. The massive AI-enabled server farms require lots of power, which prompted Microsoft to strike a deal to reopen a reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, the site of a notorious partial meltdown in 1979. Amazon and Google have also signed nuclear power agreements. (Updates with additional context on data centers in sixth paragraph.)

Microsoft To Invest $80 Billion In AI Data Centers For Fiscal 2025 - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft Corp. MSFT announced plans to allocate approximately $80 billion in fiscal 2025 towards the development of data centers aimed at training artificial intelligence (AI) models and deploying AI and cloud-based applications. What Happened: The surge in Microsoft's AI investment follows the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI in 2022, prompting companies to integrate AI into their offerings. AI's demand for computing power has increased the need for specialized data centers, enabling tech firms to connect thousands of chips in clusters. "We have the opportunity as a country to equip all Americans with the skills needed to use AI to pursue higher-paying jobs and more successful careers. This should be our national north star," said Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Microsoft has been investing heavily to enhance its AI infrastructure and expand its data center network. According to Microsoft, more than half of the $80 billion investment will be directed towards the United States. As OpenAI's primary backer, Microsoft is one of the leading players in the AI race, bolstered by its exclusive partnership with the AI chatbot maker. See Also: Google Chrome Users Beware This Holiday Season: Cyber Security Firm's Browser Extension Hijacked By Attackers Why It Matters: Microsoft's aggressive investment in AI infrastructure aligns with its recent milestones and strategic shifts. In October, CEO Satya Nadella announced that the company's AI business was on track to surpass $10 billion in annual revenue, marking it as the fastest-growing segment in Microsoft's history. This underscores the significant demand and rapid adoption of AI technologies across various sectors. In December, reports emerged that Microsoft was planning to reduce its dependence on OpenAI by integrating internal and third-party AI models into its Microsoft 365 Copilot product. This move reflects a strategic effort to diversify its AI capabilities and reduce reliance on external technologies. Furthermore, competition with other tech giants like Alphabet Inc. has intensified, with Google CEO Sundar Pichai challenging Microsoft's use of OpenAI's models. This rivalry highlights the ongoing battle for supremacy in the AI space, as companies strive to innovate and capture market share. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Squid Game Season 3: Everything You Need To Know About The Thrilling Finale Coming In 2025 Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock MSFTMicrosoft Corp$424.501.41%Overview Rating:Good62.5%Technicals Analysis1000100Financials Analysis400100WatchlistOverviewMarket News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Microsoft plans to spend $80 bln on AI-enabled data centers in fiscal 2025

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab is planning to spend $80 billion in fiscal 2025 on the construction of data centers to train artificial intelligence (AI) models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications, the company said in a blog post on Friday. Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft to Spend Big in 2025 on Developing AI Infrastructure

Microsoft is also providing AI curriculum and faculty training in the US Microsoft shared its artificial intelligence (AI) vision for the fiscal year 2025, highlighting the key areas for the company. Instead of focusing on its AI product roadmap, the company shared details about its investment plans in AI infrastructure, skilling, and developing accessibility of the technology globally. Among other efforts, the Redmond-based tech giant stated that it will be investing about $80 billion (roughly Rs. 6.86 lakh crore) in AI-enabled data centres to train and deploy AI models. Microsoft is also developing AI-focused curriculums for colleges in the US. In a blog post published on Friday, the tech giant shared its vision for the fiscal year. The larger plan includes investing in AI technology and infrastructure, supporting skilling programmes that will enable widespread AI adoption, and exporting the technology globally to make AI more accessible. On infrastructure, the company stated that it will invest around $80 billion to build AI-enabled data centres. These data centres will be used by the company to train new models, to deploy them globally, as well as powering Microsoft's different cloud-based AI applications. The tech giant highlighted that more than half of this fund will be spent within the US. Explaining the need for AI skilling, the company claimed that within the next 25 years, "AI can help create the next billion AI-enabled jobs" across industries such as services, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and government. Focusing on this need, the company has partnered with the US National AI Consortium for Community Colleges to provide an "industry-aligned" AI curriculum. It is also developing faculty training via AI Bootcamps to enable students to learn in-demand skills. Additionally, Microsoft said it has developed AI training programmes for teachers. It also offers career guidance and helps young professionals enhance their AI skills via the Microsoft Copilot for Career Navigators initiative. Last year, the tech giant announced an investment of more than $35 billion (roughly Rs. 2.99 lakh crore) in 14 countries within three years to build secure AI and cloud data centre infrastructure. Microsoft said that the number has now been expanded to 40 countries to include the Global South. It has collaborated with UAE-based AI company G42 to introduce AI infrastructure in Kenya.

Microsoft Slated to Invest $80 Billion in AI-Enabled Data Centers This Fiscal Year

He said government regulations on the technology will play an important role in supporting American firms in other countries. Microsoft (MSFT) expects to spend about $80 billion on data centers that fuel artificial intelligence in the current fiscal year, president Brad Smith wrote in a blog post that also urged incoming President Donald Trump to invest in "a golden opportunity" for the domestic economy. Smith said the U.S. is at the helm of a "world-changing" technology boom thanks to tech companies, chip suppliers and software developers collaborating on AI. Microsoft will keep the momentum going by investing more than half of the $80 billion set aside for data centers within the U.S., Smith said. The announcement comes as American tech companies pour trillions into the data centers that AI relies on, and seek out nuclear energy to power them. "Today, the United States leads the global AI race thanks to the investment of private capital and innovations by American companies of all sizes, from dynamic start-ups to well-established enterprises," Smith said. But the country can best capitalize on the nascent technology if the government, education system and non-profit sector also help usher in the AI era, Smith said. He urged the Trump Administration to increase the amount of AI research funding available, and to develop a national "talent strategy" to train Americans on the technology. Smith also asked the administration to consider how AI regulations could affect American companies' prospects abroad as competition with rival companies in China ratchets up. "The most important U.S. public policy priority should be to ensure that the U.S. private sector can continue to advance with the wind at its back," Smith said. "The United States cannot afford to slow its own private sector with heavy-handed regulations."

Microsoft expects to spend USD80b on AI this fiscal year

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Microsoft president Brad Smith on Friday said the company is on track to pump about USD80 billion into artificial intelligence (AI) this fiscal year. Smith contended AI is poised to transform all aspects of life, and it is imperative that the United States be the global leader when it comes to the technology, he wrote in an online post. "In many ways, artificial intelligence is the electricity of our age, and the next four years can build a foundation for America's economic success for the next quarter century," Smith said. "The United States is poised to stand at the forefront of this new technology wave, especially if it doubles down on its strengths and effectively partners internationally." Smith called on President-elect Donald Trump and Congress to expand support for AI innovation with moves such as increased funding for research at universities and the National Science Foundation. China and the United States are racing to spread their AI systems to other countries in an effort to become the de facto standard, according to Smith. "Given the nature of technology markets and their potential network effects, this race between the US and China for international influence likely will be won by the fastest first mover," Smith reasoned. "Hence, the United States needs a smart international strategy to rapidly support American AI around the world." China has started offering developing countries subsidized access to scarce computer chips and help building local AI datacenters, according to Smith. "The Chinese wisely recognize that if a country standardizes on China's AI platform, it likely will continue to rely on that platform in the future," Smith said. The US should move quickly to promote its AI technology as superior and more trustworthy, enlisting allies in the effort, he recommended. For its part, Microsoft is on pace to invest about USD80 billion this year to build out AI datacenters, train AI models and deploy cloud-based applications around the world, according to Smith. Microsoft's 2025 fiscal year ends at the close of June. Microsoft rivals Amazon, Google, and OpenAI have also been spending billions of dollars on AI even though it remains unclear how and when they expect to profit from those investments.

Microsoft expects to spend $80B on AI this fiscal year - VnExpress International

Smith contended AI is poised to transform all aspects of life, and it is imperative that the United States be the global leader when it comes to the technology, he wrote in an online post. "In many ways, artificial intelligence is the electricity of our age, and the next four years can build a foundation for America's economic success for the next quarter century," Smith said. "The United States is poised to stand at the forefront of this new technology wave, especially if it doubles down on its strengths and effectively partners internationally." Smith called on President-elect Donald Trump and Congress to expand support for AI innovation with moves such as increased funding for research at universities and the National Science Foundation. China and the United States are racing to spread their AI systems to other countries in an effort to become the de facto standard, according to Smith. "Given the nature of technology markets and their potential network effects, this race between the U.S. and China for international influence likely will be won by the fastest first mover," Smith reasoned. "Hence, the United States needs a smart international strategy to rapidly support American AI around the world." China has started offering developing countries subsidized access to scarce computer chips and help building local AI datacenters, according to Smith. "The Chinese wisely recognize that if a country standardizes on China's AI platform, it likely will continue to rely on that platform in the future," Smith said. The U.S. should move quickly to promote its AI technology as superior and more trustworthy, enlisting allies in the effort, he recommended. For its part, Microsoft is on pace to invest about $80 billion this year to build out AI datacenters, train AI models and deploy cloud-based applications around the world, according to Smith. Microsoft's 2025 fiscal year ends at the close of June. Microsoft rivals Amazon, Google, and OpenAI have also been spending billions of dollars on AI even though it remains unclear how and when they expect to profit from those investments.

Microsoft offers U.S. a roadmap to win AI race vs. China, signals $80B in FY25 capital spending

The United States needs an overarching national strategy to ensure it prevails in the global AI race -- focusing on R&D funding, education, and workforce development, and ensuring that American tech companies aren't slowed down by "heavy-handed regulations," Microsoft President Brad Smith writes in a post today. The post comes on the first day of the new Congress in Washington, D.C., and two weeks before the start of President-elect Donald Trump's second term. "In many ways, artificial intelligence is the electricity of our age, and the next four years can build a foundation for America's economic success for the next quarter century," Smith writes, describing it as a "golden opportunity." The post, which focuses in part on the competitive threat posed by China in artificial intelligence, also looks to underscore Microsoft's role in advancing AI development. Describing the company's efforts, Smith confirms that Microsoft will spend $80 billion on datacenters to train and deploy AI this fiscal year, which began in July. This capex number is getting lots of attention, but it's not a huge surprise. Microsoft reported $20 billion in capital spending in the first fiscal quarter of 2025, ending in September, and CFO Amy Hood said at the time that the investment would increase sequentially in the second fiscal quarter, before eventually trending down. In his post today, Smith notes that more than half of the spending will be in the U.S. Smith writes that success in AI will require collaboration among leaders in the U.S. government, the private sector, education, and non-profits, He points to China's advancements in AI, crediting its rapid progress in part to substantial government investments and a cohesive national strategy. Smith notes that China is seeking to position itself as a global leader in AI, leveraging its large population, extensive data resources, and strategic focus on technology innovation. Smith cites the precedent of China's prior investments in 5G wireless infrastructure, and the security issues that subsequently arose for the U.S. from the spread of Huawei's 5G products around the world. Similarly, he writes, one key now is to ensure that American AI is adopted globally. "American products are more trusted than their Chinese counterparts, and our private sector is unmatched in its ability to invest in infrastructure around the world," he writes, connecting the issue to the debate over tariffs: "With a balanced and common-sense approach to export control policy, the United States can solidify the diplomatic relations that will be critical to global AI adoption."