Latest news with #AzureCloud
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TD Cowen Raises Microsoft (MSFT) Price Target to $580, Reiterates ‘Buy'
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:) is one of the AI Stocks on Wall Street's Radar. On July 17, TD Cowen reiterated the stock as 'Buy' and raised its price target on the stock to $580 per share from $540. The rating affirmation is backed by Microsoft's position as a 'clear beneficiary in the AI cycle.' According to the firm's analysis, there are strong performance checks for the Azure Cloud platform and expectations that previous capacity constraints will begin to ease. TD Cowen's new 'bottoms-up' financial model has given them confidence that Azure growth will trend 'well above' current Wall Street expectations in the coming quarters. 'MSFT reports 4Q on 7/30. While shares are hitting all-time highs, we think the story continues to grow increasingly attractive w/ MSFT positioned as a clear beneficiary in the AI cycle.' 'Azure checks were strong, we're expecting capacity constraints to be easing, and our new bottoms-up model gives us confidence in Azure growth trending well above Street in the qtrs ahead. Reiterate Buy. PT to $580.' Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) provides AI-powered cloud, productivity, and business solutions, focusing on efficiency, security, and AI advancements. While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Nvidia-OpenAI partnership strengthens as ChatGPT-maker puts Google TPUs on backseat
Nvidia is solidifying its partnership with OpenAI after the ChatGPT maker confirmed it has no immediate plans to extensively deploy Google's in-house artificial intelligence (AI) chips. This comes despite a recent cloud collaboration between the two AI rivals, a report said. 'We're proud to partner with OpenAI and continue powering the foundation of their work," Nvidia posted on X (formerly Twitter), while resharing a report by news agency Reuters stating OpenAI's decision to not use Google's tensor processing units (TPUs) at scale. An OpenAI spokesperson told the agency over the weekend that while the AI lab is conducting early tests with some Google TPUs, there are no active plans for large-scale adoption. The company will continue to rely on Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) AI chips to meet its increasing computational needs. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo What Google-OpenAI partnership means for Microsoft This clarification from OpenAI follows a Reuters report just two days prior, which revealed that OpenAI had signed a cloud services deal with Google Cloud in May. This agreement marked a notable partnership between direct AI competitors. The deal grants OpenAI access to Google's infrastructure, supporting the training and deployment of models like ChatGPT and lessening its dependence on Microsoft's Azure Cloud. Google has expanded the external availability of its TPUs, which were historically reserved for internal use. This initiative has attracted customers such as Apple and AI startups like Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence – founded by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever. Reportedly, these custom chips offer Google a cost advantage and performance after Nvidia. OnePlus Buds 4 Review: Flagship Sound & Gaming Performance AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Business Insider
19-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Microsoft's Exit from Talks Threatens OpenAI's For-Profit Transition
Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) is considering withdrawing from heated negotiations with artificial intelligence (AI) startup OpenAI. The two are engaged in high-stakes talks regarding the size of Microsoft's future stake in the ChatGPT maker, should it turn into a public-benefit entity. CEO Sam Altman believes that a for-profit corporation would enable the company to raise funds more easily and even pursue an IPO (Initial Public Listing) in the future. Confident Investing Starts Here: Notably, OpenAI needs to transform into a for-profit structure to access the funds from its most recent funding round, or investors could walk away. In the worst-case scenario, some may convert their equity funding into debt. For instance, one of its largest backers, Japan's SoftBank (SFTBY), might reduce its funding by $10 billion, from the initially planned $30 billion. Microsoft must approve the conversion by the end of this year. Multibillion-Dollar Partnership at Risk Microsoft has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI since its initial funding in 2019. The companies are negotiating the size of MSFT's equity stake, which could range from 20% to 49% in the restructured entity. However, the two seem to have reached an impasse regarding their future relationship. A Financial Times report stated that if the parties fail to reach an agreement, Microsoft could withdraw and continue to rely on its existing contract, which grants it access to OpenAI's technology until 2030. Notably, the tech giant has exclusive rights to sell access to OpenAI's AI models and tools through Azure Cloud and receives a 20% share of OpenAI's revenues. Microsoft is unwilling to give up either benefit, as this exclusivity gives it an edge over rivals Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META) in the AI race. Meanwhile, this fallout has led OpenAI to consider legal action, threatening to take Microsoft to court and accusing it of anticompetitive behavior. Moreover, OpenAI is complaining that Microsoft is unable to deliver the enhanced computing power required to run and train its advanced ChatGPT models. The AI firm boasts 500 million weekly active users worldwide. Their partnership has indeed been a productive one, delivering advanced AI tools to the masses and widely regarded as one of the most important in the technology sector. Both parties are said to be in daily discussions on the subject, and their recent joint statement reads, 'Talks are ongoing and we are optimistic we will continue to build together for years to come.' Furthermore, once this hurdle is cleared, OpenAI must receive approval from attorneys general in Delaware and California to convert to a for-profit structure. Additionally, OpenAI must contend with billionaire Elon Musk 's lawsuit, which seeks to halt the transformation. Is Microsoft a Good Stock to Buy? Analysts remain highly optimistic about Microsoft's long-term stock trajectory. On TipRanks, MSFT stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 31 Buys and five Hold ratings. The average Microsoft price target of $518.77 implies 8% upside potential from current levels. Year-to-date, MSFT stock has gained 14.4%.
Fintech News ME
13-06-2025
- Business
- Fintech News ME
e& enterprise and Microsoft Expand AI Partnership in MENAT
e& enterprise, the digital transformation arm of technology group e&, is expanding its collaboration with Microsoft to deliver scalable AI and data solutions across the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT) region. The partnership is focused on accelerating AI adoption and supporting digital transformation efforts in key markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye. Amit Gupta, Vice President of Data & AI at e& enterprise, said: 'This collaboration combines e& enterprise and Microsoft's technological expertise and deep market insights to deliver transformative solutions that resonate with the unique dynamics of the MENAT region. Together, we aim to promote digital readiness and bridge the digital divide by providing essential sectors with next generation AI and data-driven tools.' Ahmed Hamzawy, Chief Partner Officer, Microsoft UAE, added: 'Our partnership with e& enterprise will give a significant boost to driving AI adoption across businesses. By leveraging our combined technological expertise, and the safe and secure properties of Microsoft's cloud and AI services, we are empowering organisations to better detect fraud, improve risk management and deliver personalised services through AI-driven insights to their customers.' The partnership will focus on industry-specific applications for sectors such as public services, telecommunications, education, BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance), and retail. The approach will be tailored to address the requirements of individual markets while supporting broader sector-wide challenges, including customer engagement, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making. AI solutions will be developed and deployed using tools from Microsoft's Azure Cloud ecosystem. These include Azure Machine Learning, Azure Databricks, Azure AI Search, and Azure Synapse Analytics for model training, analytics, and data processing. Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service will support generative AI use cases including customer service automation, content generation, and forecasting. Additionally, Azure Power BI will provide data visualisation and insight-sharing capabilities, while Azure Data Lake Storage and Snowflake will enable scalable data storage and real-time analytics. e& enterprise will integrate these technologies with its own hybrid cloud services. Its Cloud Strategy and Advisory offering will guide adoption planning, with additional support through Migration and Adoption services. Managed Cloud Services and Cloud Security solutions will also be made available to ensure continuity, compliance, and resilience. In line with both organisations' ethical frameworks, the partnership will incorporate Microsoft's Responsible AI principles and e& enterprise's Responsible AI Framework throughout development and deployment, with an emphasis on transparency, data privacy, and regulatory compliance.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Nebius' $2B Capex Spend on AI Infra a Smart or a Risky Bet?
Nebius Group N.V. NBIS is doubling down on AI infrastructure with an ambitious $2 billion capital expenditure plan for 2025, up from its earlier guidance of $1.5 billion. NBIS stated that the increase was primarily due to some planned fourth-quarter spending shifting into the early first quarter. Nebius is focusing on building a global footprint, with capacity in the United States, Europe and the Middle East amid accelerating demand for its AI-infrastructure services. It added three new regions, including a strategic data center in Israel, in the last reported quarter. Infrastructure enhancement helps reduce latency, diversify risk and extend support for global customer requirements, which is crucial for enterprise AI workloads. In June 2025, NBIS announced private placement of $1 billion in convertible notes to capitalize on the AI-infrastructure boom and drive-up revenue opportunities in 2026. But is this ambitious capex plan a sound long-term investment, or a big capital risk? Nebius is carrying strong momentum into the second quarter of 2025 and remains confident in achieving its full-year annualized run-rate revenue or ARR guidance of $750 million to $1 billion. For 2025, the company also reaffirmed its overall revenue guidance of $500 million to $700 million. This makes for a compelling case to scale faster as it races to gain a larger share of the booming AI market characterized by intense competition. NBIS plans to build a data-center infrastructure pipeline that can offer scalability to more than 1 gigawatt ('GW') of capacity. With 1 GW of power, NBIS expects significantly higher revenue beyond its current guidance. Nonetheless, Nebius' capex spend appears prudent, but its payoff hinges on execution, continued AI demand and the ability to scale profitably. Like Nebius, CoreWeave CRWV is also ramping up its capex spend. CRWV expects capex to be between $20 billion and $23 billion for 2025 due to accelerated investment in the platform to meet customer demand. At present, it has a network of 33 purpose-built AI-data centers across the United States and Europe, supported by 420 megawatts of active power. The company uses a success-based model, entering capex programs only after securing multi-year customer contracts that cover investment costs within the contract terms, helping it to sensibly scale the debt structure. Capex reached $19 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Microsoft MSFT is a giant in this space, with Azure Cloud being one of the dominant forces in the AI-cloud infra space. MSFT is allocating significant capital expenditures to scale its AI infrastructure. In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the company spent $21.4 billion on capex. It paid $16.7 billion for PP&E. MSFT highlighted that nearly half of the cloud and AI-related spend was on long-lived assets that will support monetization over the next 15 years and more. The remainder focused on servers (CPUs and GPUs) to fulfill rising AI demand, including a $315 billion customer backlog. Looking ahead to fiscal 2026, capex will grow at a slower rate than fiscal 2025, with a higher share of short-lived assets. Shares of Nebius gained 82.5% year to date compared with the Internet – Software and Services industry's growth of 26.6%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research In terms of price/book, NBIS' shares are trading at 3.77X, down from the Internet Software Services industry's ratio of 4.2X. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NBIS' earnings for 2025 has been unchanged over the past 30 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research NBIS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS) : Free Stock Analysis Report CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
