The lease cancellations have sparked questions about Microsoft's AI strategy, especially as the company continues to invest heavily in AI infrastructure. Despite these concerns, Microsoft reiterated its commitment to growing its infrastructure globally to meet customer demand. The tech giant's actions have impacted European energy stocks, suggesting a potential decrease in power needs for data centers. Meanwhile, the emergence of lower-cost AI models like DeepSeek's has intensified scrutiny over the substantial investments by major tech companies in AI development.
Key takeaways:
- Microsoft has cancelled some data centre leases in the U.S., raising concerns about potential oversupply in AI computing capacity.
- OpenAI is reportedly shifting workloads from Microsoft to Oracle as part of a new partnership, which may be influencing Microsoft's lease decisions.
- Microsoft plans to spend over US$80 billion on infrastructure this fiscal year, despite adjusting some of its data centre strategies.
- Critics question the practicality of AI investments, as companies like Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon continue to spend heavily on AI infrastructure.