US technology giant Microsoft announced plans to invest US$80 billion in fiscal year 2025 to build a data center dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) model training and application deployment. More than half of this investment will be concentrated in the United States, which is expected to strengthen the country’s leading position in the global AI field further.
In his official blog, Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chairman and president, wrote that this large-scale investment helps the United States maintain its leadership in AI technology and hopes to drive further global AI innovation. He pointed out that the partnership with OpenAI, its AI-powered software, and emerging companies’ technology applications have demonstrated these technologies’ unlimited potential.
According to financial data, Microsoft’s capital expenditures in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 increased to US$20 billion, an increase of 5.3% over the same period last year. Analyst firm Visible Alpha forecasts that the company’s total capital expenditures for the year will reach US$84.24 billion).
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, AI investment has risen rapidly worldwide, and various industries have tried to integrate AI technology into products and services. The massive computing power required to operate AI drives the need for dedicated data centers. Microsoft continues to invest significant resources in AI infrastructure and network expansion to strengthen its position in the AI capital race.
As a major financial backer of OpenAI, Microsoft is seen as a strong contender in the AI space due to its exclusive partnership with OpenAI. Since its inception, the company has invested more than US$13 billion to support the development of OpenAI.
Brad Smith mentioned that companies’ capital investment and innovation capabilities in the United States have put the Country in a leading position in the global AI race. However, he also stressed that to consolidate this advantage further, the United States needs to actively promote adopting its own AI technology at the international level. He recommended that the incoming Trump administration develop a comprehensive national AI talent strategy and use AI to improve government efficiency to support U.S. leadership in this race.
“The best strategy for the U.S. in AI is to act quickly and effectively to make technology the global first choice, rather than just complaining about unfair competition,” Brad Smith said.
Source Reuters
