Microsoft’s $80B AI shift: What it does to your money

Microsoft is making important changes with respect to the aboriginal of its operations, starring to important implications for the tech world.

It didn't inquire you first, but if you've invested successful the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, oregon a fewer shares of Microsoft done your 401(k), you're already connected board.

In fiscal 2025, the concern plans to put astir $80 cardinal successful AI-enabled information centers to bid models and run AI and unreality applications.

Microsoft besides chopped much than 15,000 workers this year, including astir 9,000 successful aboriginal July alone. This is 1 of the astir assertive rounds of layoffs successful the company's history.

That unusual premix of grounds AI expenditure and large cutbacks is changing however your portfolio is exposed to Big Tech without you adjacent noticing.

Microsoft seems to beryllium unstoppable connected the surface.

The company's Azure unreality concern is expanding astatine a precocious complaint of much than 10%. AI "copilots" are built into a assortment of things, specified arsenic Office and GitHub. The banal is simply a large portion of practically each large-cap scale fund.

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The steadfast is undertaking 2 things astatine erstwhile down the scenes:

• AI walk surges: Company blog and filings uncover plans to determination $80 cardinal this fiscal twelvemonth into AI-ready information centers.

• Headcount falls: A July memo confirmed implicit 15,000 layoffs successful 2025, including 9,000 successful a azygous month.

Satya Nadella, the CEO, has said that the layoffs are "weighing heavily" connected him. He has besides made it plain that Microsoft is restructuring astir AI, which implies that determination volition beryllium much superior concern and less layers of personnel.

That doesn't marque consciousness from a worker's constituent of view. Wall Street sees it arsenic the caller normal.

Microsoft is simply the astir evident illustration of a bigger change.

Tech corporations successful Silicon Valley are making much wealth than ever portion secretly laying disconnected workers. Over 141,000 IT jobs had been mislaid successful 2025, according to a Washington Post probe study that analyzed information from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This is simply a 17% summation implicit the aforesaid clip past year. Over the erstwhile 2 years, IT jobs person dropped by astir 3% a twelvemonth passim the state and by implicit 19% successful California.

Related: Palantir fans: You’re not going to similar what conscionable happened

Why are the cutbacks inactive happening portion AI income are up done the roof? A fewer reasons support popping up: