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Microsoft's AI growth is helping its cloud business weaken Amazon's lead

Feb 12, 2024 - cnbc.com
Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure is rapidly closing the gap with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the current market leader in cloud services. Analysts estimate that Azure, which was half the size of AWS five years ago, is now about three-quarters the size of its top rival. Microsoft's growth is partly attributed to its focus on artificial intelligence (AI), with the company's finance chief, Amy Hood, revealing that 6 points of Azure's revenue growth came from AI. Microsoft has been adding graphics processing units to its data centers to run AI models, attracting 53,000 Azure AI customers.

Despite AWS's claim of having the most expansive collection of compute instances with Nvidia chips, Azure is growing much faster. Cloud infrastructure now makes up around 29% of Microsoft's total revenue and has become a significant contributor to its profit. In 2023, Microsoft, which recently surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable public company, generated nearly $83 billion in net income, up from $67 billion the previous year. The Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes Azure, contributed 46% of Microsoft's total operating income.

Key takeaways:

  • Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure is quickly closing the gap with Amazon Web Services (AWS), with recent growth partly attributed to artificial intelligence (AI).
  • Azure's revenue increased by 30% in the recent quarter, compared to AWS's 13% year-over-year growth.
  • Microsoft has been adding GPUs to its data centers for clients to run AI models, contributing to the company's growth in the AI market.
  • Azure now makes up around 29% of Microsoft's total revenue and has become a significant contributor to the company's profit.
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