Microsoft and Alphabet unveil robust financial results, showcasing substantial progress in the realms of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. Both tech giants are poised to continue driving advancements in AI trends throughout 2024.
Major technology juggernauts Microsoft and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, unveiled their earnings on January 30 for the preceding quarter, showcasing noteworthy progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing, among other areas.
AI has been a dominant focal point in the tech industry over the past year, witnessing a global market size surge to $196.6 billion in 2023. Microsoft and Google emerged as frontrunners in AI development during 2023, each introducing their sophisticated chatbots.
Microsoft experienced a surge in sales towards the end of the year, with its AI tools playing a pivotal role. The company reported a remarkable 18% year-on-year revenue increase from September to December, surpassing $60 billion.
During the Q4 earnings call, Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, provided insights into Microsoft’s AI advancements, stating:
“We’ve moved from talking about AI to applying AI at scale. By infusing AI across every layer of our tech stack, we’re winning new customers and helping drive new benefits and productivity gains across every sector.”
Closing the year on a high note, Microsoft claimed the title of the world’s most valuable public company, boasting a staggering $3-trillion valuation, surpassing even Apple.
Beyond its strides in AI, Microsoft witnessed a remarkable 30% year-on-year surge in sales for its cloud computing service, Azure, exceeding predictions by industry analysts. The company’s overall profits for Q4 registered a robust 33% year-on-year increase, reaching $21.9 billion.
The onset of 2024 saw Microsoft introducing the professional version of its AI chatbot, Copilot, featuring the ability to craft custom GPTs and seamless integration with Office. However, the tech giant also found itself embroiled in a significant copyright lawsuit alongside The New York Times, involving OpenAI.
Cointelegraph sought additional information from Microsoft on these developments.
Similarly, Alphabet leveraged its AI integrations as a pivotal driver of success in Q4. Sundar Pichai, the company’s CEO, expressed satisfaction with the robust performance of Google Search, along with the growth observed in YouTube and Cloud.
“Each of these is already benefiting from our AI investments and innovation. As we enter the Gemini era, the best is yet to come.”
Alphabet unveiled a consolidated revenue of $86 billion for Q4, marking a substantial 13% year-over-year increase.
Highlighting Alphabet’s commitment to “durably re-engineer our cost base” in support of new growth opportunities, Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer, emphasized the company’s strategic focus.
Embarking on the new year, Google articulated plans to streamline its workforce in pursuit of ambitious goals, particularly in the realm of AI. In January 2023, the company announced a workforce reduction of 6%, resulting in the global layoff of 182,381 employees by September 2023.
Despite workforce adjustments, Google kicked off the year by introducing Lumiere, an innovative AI text-to-video generator. This cutting-edge tool utilizes a time-space diffusion model to seamlessly transform text and images into realistic AI-generated videos, complete with on-demand editing capabilities.
