SoftwareAIMicrosoft plans on investing $80,000,000,000 in AI this year, with no sign of the machine learning spending spree stalling just yetWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

SoftwareAIMicrosoft plans on investing $80,000,000,000 in AI this year, with no sign of the machine learning spending spree stalling just yetWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Windows and Devices Pavan Davuluri speaks about Recall during the Microsoft May 20 Briefing event at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, on May 20, 2024. Microsoft unveiled a new category of PC on Monday that features generative artificial intelligence tools built directly into Windows, the company�s world leading operating system. The tech giant estimates that more than 50 million "AI PCs" will be sold over the next 12 months, given the appetite for devices powered by ChatGPT-style technology. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP) (Photo by JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)

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.

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 toalmost all of Microsoft’s net incomein 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 thelacklustre sales of AI-ready PCswould mean the end ofCopilotandRecall, then you’re going to be disappointed.

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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.

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Catch up withCES 2025:We’re on the ground in sunny Las Vegas covering all the latest announcements from some of the biggest names in tech, including Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Asus, Razer, MSI and more.View Deal

Catch up withCES 2025:We’re on the ground in sunny Las Vegas covering all the latest announcements from some of the biggest names in tech, including Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Asus, Razer, MSI and more.

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Catch up withCES 2025:We’re on the ground in sunny Las Vegas covering all the latest announcements from some of the biggest names in tech, including Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Asus, Razer, MSI and more.

Catch up withCES 2025:We’re on the ground in sunny Las Vegas covering all the latest announcements from some of the biggest names in tech, including Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Asus, Razer, MSI and more.

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