Microsoft hit as AI spending in sharp focus after DeepSeek market shock
Microsoft hit as AI spending in sharp focus after DeepSeek market shock
Share:
Shares in Microsoft have fallen sharply after investment spending came in higher than expected in its latest results, released just days after the DeepSeek market shock for tech stocks. The company, which has received reprimands from shareholders previously over AI related bills, had already let it be known that it expected to spend $80bn this year ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday night.
That AI spending forecast came before Monday's rout for AI-linked stocks that saw the leading AI chipmaker Nvidia suffer the worst one day loss in history, with almost $600m erased from its market value. Money latest: Ryanair boss launches blistering attack on chancellor.
While it has since clawed back some of those losses, it has left investors pondering whether the levels of investment planned by big US tech as a whole is completely necessary. It's all a consequence of the emergence of DeepSeek - the Chinese-owned and developed chatbot currently sitting atop Apple's app store free downloads.
It toppled ChatGPT to get there. How Chinese DeepSeek can be as good as US AI rivals at fraction of cost. Donald Trump warns DeepSeek should be 'wakeup call' for America's AI industry. AI now not just a contest between Californian tech bros with macho budgets, but between superpowers.
Read more: What is DeepSeek and why the fuss?AI race now a contest between superpowers. DeepSeek's claims to have created the assistant on a shoestring budget - when compared to the vast US investment to date - forced US tech investors to not only question the huge sums involved but also the lofty market values of exposed firms.
