Microsoft firmly believes in it, the next technological revolution will not happen without them and the company is putting in the resources to do this.
In 2023, Microsoft announced a colossal investment of 10 billion dollars in the startup OpenAI and the development of ChatGPT.
Although the technology is currently only in its infancy, its omnipresence and numerous applications make Microsoft want to go further. The company announces, in a blog post, investing up to 80 billion dollars to build AI-enabled data centers.
An investment over four years
Pour Brad Smithvice president and president of Microsoft, artificial intelligence represents “the electricity of our time” and an opportunity not to be missed. According to Tom’s Hardwarethis investment would not have been anticipated by the competition. The media emphasizes that major new investments should therefore be expected in the sector, because no one will want to be left behind on this subject.
Artificial intelligence is poised to become a cutting-edge technology that will change the world
Brad Smithvice president and president of Microsoft
A three-step plan
For Microsoft, this investment is only the first step in a three phase plan. By investing heavily in research and development, the company aims to position itself as an industry leader, and perhaps gain greater independence from OpenAI.
Next, Microsoft plans to set up a program to train experts capable, ultimately, of exporting American know-how to other countries.
Some of these measures are quantified: an investment of $35 billion is planned over three years in 14 countries to build reliable and secure cloud data center and AI infrastructure. However, other aspects remain unresolved, notably on the ecological plan.
To go further
Why AI progress is likely to slow in 2025
Companies investing in AI see their carbon footprint explode. Starting with Google, which gave up its carbon neutrality to accelerate its development of AI.
Knowing that“a query on ChatGPT requires 10 times more energy than a search on Google”the expansion of artificial intelligence, particularly through the construction of dedicated nuclear power plants, raises questions about the future of this technology.
