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☆ Big Tech’s next key market is India. Here’s how four Club portfolio names are playing it
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Just days after delivering a stellar quarter, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was on a whirlwind speaking tour throughout India. The Indian market also represents a largely untapped market that will diversify revenue streams. Over the summer, India became Amazon's first market in Asia to launch its dedicated virtual cargo airline , dubbed Amazon Air. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Morgan Stanley, Chetan Ahya, Ahya, Bernstein, Nadella, Zev Fima, Fima, Tim Cook, Amazon, Sundar Pichai, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim Organizations: Microsoft, Apple, country's Ministry, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Club, Foxconn Technology, Media, Amazon, Walmart, Web Services, Google, CNBC Locations: India, Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, China, Asia, United States, Chennai, Puna, Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, India's, Gujarat

☆ Electricity demand from data centers, AI and crypto could double in 2 years. How to play it
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The firm pointed to recent data from the International Energy Agency, which forecasted that electricity consumption from data centers, artificial intelligence and the cryptocurrency sector could double by 2026. "The latest IEA electricity forecasts paint an even more alarming outlook for data center consumption," analyst Hiral Patel wrote in a Monday note. Barclays said it is looking at three investment areas that are a key part of the trend: data center operators, data center suppliers and data center grid infrastructure builders. After successfully using lithium-ion batteries at a Dublin data center , Microsoft wants to expand grid-interactive battery storage in other areas. That includes nine data centers in Ireland, which is a data center hotspot in Europe that's also under increased risk given its soaring electricity consumption, Barclays said.

Persons: Hiral Patel, Morgan Stanley's, Europe that's, Stifel Nicolaus, Eaton Organizations: Barclays, International Energy Agency, CNBC, Microsoft, Electricity, Constellation, Digital Realty Trust, Digital, European Union, Blackstone, Digital Realty, Devices, AMD, Tech Locations: Japan, U.S, Dublin, Ireland, Europe, European, Frankfurt, Paris, Virginia

☆ Vodafone signs $1.5 bln Microsoft deal for AI, cloud and IoT
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

(Photo Illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)Vodafone has agreed a 10-year partnership with Microsoft to bring generative AI, digital, enterprise and cloud services to more than 300 million businesses and consumers across its European and African markets. Microsoft's Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff said Vodafone's strength in IoT and financial services were strategically important. Microsoft deploys "digital twins" to model manufacturing environments so that process improvements can be tested in the cloud. "Vodafone's IoT stack allows us to go into those environments, model the environment, create large-scale data stores, and use AI to help customers meet their sustainability goals," he said. "We are excited to bring generative AI capabilities to help customers make more intelligent financial decisions," he said.

Persons: Budrul Chukrut, Vodafone's, Luka Mucic, Judson Althoff Organizations: Vodafone, LON, Getty Images, Microsoft Locations: CHINA, British, Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa

☆ Microsoft starts selling its Copilot AI tool for email and documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

On Wednesday, the company started selling the Microsoft 365 Copilot artificial intelligence add-on for its Office app subscriptions targeting businesses. Wong said Gartner encourages organizations to experiment with generative AI, which can create synthetic images and text with just a few words of human input. "I think getting to 20% will be reasonable within two to three years for technologies like Copilot, because there's going to be early adopters, and there's going to be fast followers," he said. Microsoft acknowledges on its website that "the responses that generative AI produces aren't guaranteed to be 100% factual." Microsoft says prompts and responses in Copilot aren't used to train language models and adhere to the company's privacy standards.

Persons: Piper Sandler, Brent Bracelin, Hannah Rudoff, Piper Sandler's, Bracelin, Satya Nadella, Nadella, we've, Jason Wong, Wong, Gartner, Piper Sandler's Bracelin, ChatGPT, aren't, Katie Stockton Organizations: Microsoft, Google, CNBC, Copilot, Bayer, KPMG, Mayo Clinic, Suncorp, Visa, Gartner, Companies

☆ Gen Z doesn't know how to write emails. AI is coming to Outlook, so it might help.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new Microsoft AI tool could make up for the soft skills that some managers say Gen Z lacks . Microsoft 365 Copilot will us AI to help users write better emails, the company says. AdvertisementAdvertisementCompanies that use Microsoft Outlook for correspondence are getting an AI-powered tool that will help draft emails beginning next month. Some managers have complained about their supposedly lazy Gen Z workers, who they need to be supervised all day to ensure they're keeping up with their tasks. ResumeBuilder.com surveyed more than 1,300 US managers in April, and most of them said that Gen Z is the "most challenging generation" to work with.

Persons: —, Copilot, ResumeBuilder.com, Cherie Gartner, there's, It's Organizations: Microsoft, Service, KPMG, Visa, General Motors, Lumen Technologies, CNN

☆ Microsoft AI researchers accidentally leaked company passwords and 30,000 internal Teams messages
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

But that accidentally gave full access to a 38TB cloud storage account. However, the cybersecurity firm Wiz discovered that the researchers accidentally gave people access to 38 terabytes worth of data. That's because the Microsoft researchers' GitHub repository told users to download AI models from a cloud storage URL. AdvertisementAdvertisementWiz found that the account included Microsoft employees' personal computer backups, passwords to Microsoft services, secret keys, and over 30,000 internal Teams messages. No customer action is required in response to this issue," Microsoft said in Monday's blog post.

Persons: Wiz Organizations: Microsoft, Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, China

Ferrovial has been providing artificial intelligence services to its businesses and employees since April after two years of work on an AI solutions centre in Spain. Ferrovial is working with Microsoft AI products, but has its own, completely isolated version, and is building the framework for an AI service that will help its various businesses. The company is also using AI tools on its highways to detect cars going the wrong way, objects or people on the road, and is working on perfecting the sensors. In parallel, Ferrovial is working on ways to communicate directly with motorists using its U.S. toll roads and give them more information than just the rates. AI will also help it contact potential users to offer discounts and attract more traffic.

Persons: Ferrovial, Luis Carlos Pietro Fernandez, Fernandez, Corina Pons, Andrei Khalip, Conor Humphries Organizations: Heathrow, Reuters, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Spain, Highways, Madrid, Netherlands, United States, Heathrow, Britain's, New, JFK

☆ Microsoft CEO Nadella said last year goal is to reach $500 billion in sales by 2030, court filing shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told fellow executives and board members last year that the software company aims to reach $500 billion in revenue by the 2030 fiscal year, more than doubling from its current size. Nadella described a goal of "20/20," involving 20% year-over-year revenue growth and 20% operating income expansion for the 2022 fiscal year and subsequent years. For 2022, Microsoft wound up reaching 18% top-line growth to $198.27 billion in revenue, and 19% operating income growth. In the memo, Nadella used the phrase Microsoft Plus to describe products aimed at consumers. "Our priority is to maintain growth above the market rate to extend our lead over GCP and close the gap with AWS," Nadella wrote in the accompanying document.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Nadella, Kevin Simpson Organizations: Microsoft Corp, White, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Amazon Web Services, Google, LinkedIn, Federal Trade Commission, Activision, Apple Locations: Washington , DC

Analyst Brent Bracelin raised his price target on shares to $400 from $348, saying he was increasing estimates "for an AI All-Star." Recall, Microsoft Cloud is poised to exceed $110B in F2023 which is larger than the entire business in F2013 at $78B. We think the Microsoft AI opportunity could be bigger than cloud," Bracelin wrote in a Tuesday note. Microsoft shares have been on fire this year, surging more than 38%, as excitement grows around the prospects of artificial intelligence. The analyst added, however, that "AI tailwinds can justify further multiple expansion as AI news flows further converts into higher confidence in out-year growth."

Persons: Piper Sandler, Brent Bracelin, MSFT, Bracelin, Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft Locations: Seattle

☆ ChatGPT's clever way of balancing 9 eggs with other objects convinced some Microsoft researchers that AI is becoming more like humans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft researchers compared two versions of the ChatGPT AI technology. In one question it asked GPT-3 and GPT-4 how to stack a book, nine eggs, a laptop, a bottle, and a nail. Some Microsoft AI researchers were convinced that ChatGPT is becoming more like humans because of its clever answer to a balancing task, The New York Times reported. "Here we have a book, nine eggs, a laptop, a bottle and a nail," researchers told the chatbot. "Our claim that GPT-4 represents progress towards AGI does not mean that it is perfect at what it does," the researchers wrote.

☆ Interview: Amazon Web Services cofounder Charlie Bell dishes on why he moved to Microsoft, how he met Satya Nadella, and if he'll ever work on Azure
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Amazon Web Services cofounder Charlie Bell left in 2021 for a job at Microsoft. Many in the industry, including current and former Microsoft and Amazon executives, wonder whether there's a better job for Bell. In a rare interview with Insider, Bell discussed why he left Amazon, how he met Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and whether he'll ever work on Azure. Wind the clock back to January of 2021, Jeff (Bezos) came to us and said, "Hey, I'm going to retire." The more I thought about it, the more I thought, "Well, Microsoft might be the place to do it."

☆ Bill Gates says A.I. chatbots will teach kids to read within 18 months: You'll be 'stunned by how it helps'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

That's according to billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who says AI chatbots are on track to help children learn to read and hone their writing skills in 18 months time. AI chatbots, like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard, have developed rapidly over the past several months, and can now compete with human-level intelligence on certain standardized tests. But AI chatbots' ability to recognize and recreate human-like language changes that dynamic, proponents say. And AI technology must improve at reading and recreating human language to better motivate students before it can become a viable tutor, Gates said. Gates said he regularly asks Microsoft AI developers why chatbots can't perform relatively simple calculations, or even multiply some numbers.

☆ Microsoft will need 'a crowbar to pry away' Google's advertising dominance, even with its A.I. investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But analysts aren't convinced that significant market share gains will come anytime soon. At the same time, he suspects the announcement will further push Google to roll out more of its own AI search engine features. To be sure, even though Microsoft accounts for just a fraction of the search advertising market, analysts see signs that the company is making significant progress. According to Piper Sandler's Brent Bracelin, Microsoft AI should reach $40 billion in revenue in half the time it took the company's cloud segment to reach that milestone. He also estimates that Microsoft could expand its market share within the digital ad market by as much as 7% sometime in 2026.

☆ Factbox: How to get Microsoft's new AI-enhanced Bing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) on Tuesday unveiled a juiced-up version of its Bing search engine and Edge Web browser, powered by an upgraded version of ChatGPT's underlying technology. Users will need to go to this link and sign in to a Microsoft account to get on a waitlist to access Bing search. To jump the line, Microsoft said users can set Bing as the default search engine on their PC and scan a QR code to download the Bing Search app on your phone. Here is how Microsoft has integrated the technology from OpenAI, in which Microsoft first invested in 2019, into Bing and Edge. For more complex searches, such as planning a detailed trip itinerary or researching a TV set to buy, users can refine their search by asking more details through the Bing chat.

Microsoft is hosting a major event on Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET where it's expected to talk about OpenAI's ChatGPT and how Microsoft will use it in its products. The event will not stream live for the public, but CNBC and other media outlets will be there to cover the news live. OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, on Monday tweeted a photo of himself alongside Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Follow along for live updates from Microsoft's Tuesday event below.

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the market Tuesday: Big Microsoft AI bet, defensive rotation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft and Alphabet are both Club stocks. Boeing (BA) downgraded to equal weight from overweight (hold from buy) at Morgan Stanley (MS). Wells Fargo upgrades AT & T (T) to overweight from equal weight (buy from hold); price target up to $22 per share from $17. On the seas, Morgan Stanley downgrades Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) to underweight from equal weight (sell from hold). As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Microsoft aims for AI-powered version of Bing - The Information
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is in the works to launch a version of its search engine Bing, using the artificial intelligence behind OpenAI-launched chatbot ChatGPT, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the plans. Microsoft said in a blog post last year that it planned to integrate image-generation software from OpenAI, known as DALL-E 2, into Bing. OpenAI declined to comment, while Microsoft did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company OpenAI was backed by Microsoft with $1 billion in funding in 2019. The two had formed a multi-year partnership to develop artificial intelligence supercomputing technologies on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service.

☆ Microsoft executives say it's 'wrong' for managers to spy on remote employees' mouse clicks and keystrokes: 'That's measuring heat rather than outcome'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said managers are plagued by "productivity paranoia" amid remote work. NYT previously reported some companies are measuring key strokes and mouse click to spy on staff. "Leaders think their employees are not productive, whereas employees think they are being productive and in many cases even feel burnt out," Nadella said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Thursday. The publication detailed multiple methods companies had employed to measure workers' productivity, from tracking mouse clicks and keystrokes to having staff take random photos to insure the workers were at their computers. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that workers have been turning down raises in favor of working from home.

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