Leaked Microsoft document shows Walmart's past spending on Azure cloud services
The leak happened when employees protesting Microsoft's selling products and services to the Israeli military interrupted a presentation at the conference. The executive was streaming and switched over to a Teams message stating Walmart is ready to "rock and roll" on Microsoft services Entra Web and AI Gateway.
Walmart and Microsoft have for years boasted of a partnership, but the companies don't disclose much about the relationship.
A separate leaked document viewed by Business Insider shows just how big of a customer Walmart is.
The document reveals that Walmart spent about $580 million on Microsoft's Azure cloud services between June 2023 and May 2024. Microsoft and Walmart declined to comment.
The software giant discloses relatively few financial details about its crucial cloud operation. Analysts get an Azure percentage growth rate from the company each quarter; they estimate actual revenue.
The document seen by BI provides a rare look at Azure financials and focuses on a key metric within Microsoft called Azure Consumed Revenue. Also known as ACR, this measures the dollar value of Azure services consumed by customers, whether they paid a full retail rate or a discounted rate.
Walmart spent about $580.4 million on Azure cloud services from July 2023 through May 2024, according to the document. The company's monthly ACR went from nearly $50 million in July 2023 to around $45 million in May 2024, with a peak of nearly $61.9 million in November 2023. That peak tracks with ramping up for the holiday season.
Companies don't typically reveal their cloud spending, except when securities laws require them to disclose multiyear cloud commitments. The Information reported last year that TikTok was spending about $20 million per month on Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service, citing a person who had seen the financials.
Walmart and Microsoft in 2018 announced a partnership in which the retail giant would chose Azure as its "preferred and strategic cloud provider." Walmart operates a huge online store and marketplace and, as a rival to Amazon, may be less likely to use Amazon Web Services as a cloud provider.
In 2024, Microsoft and Walmart bolstered their partnership by announcing a generative AI-powered search function built on the Azure OpenAI service. It made Walmart one of Microsoft's marquee generative AI customers.
The internal document obtained by BI isn't clear on which type of ACR is being discussed. Microsoft has different ways to slice ACR. ACR with MACC, or Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment, includes spending toward a pre-committed amount for which the customer includes a discount. ACR with PIN, or Partner Influenced Number, would also include revenue generated through a partner.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tom's Guide
2 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
7 major AI updates this week — including one that could change search forever
AI moves fast and this past week, it felt like it hit the gas. Between major upgrades from Google and Microsoft, new tools from OpenAI, and a buzzy Amazon-backed launch, there's been no shortage of AI news and breakthrough features. Whether you're trying to learn faster, protect your privacy or star in your own TV show, here are the biggest AI headlines you might've missed and what these latest updates mean for you. Gemini's new mode called Deep Think is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of rushing to deliver an answer, Deep Think gives Gemini more 'thinking time,' letting it run a parallel process to brainstorm, refine and settle on a better response. The result is smarter, more reasoned answers that feel surprisingly human. If you're looking to try it, you'll have to sign up as an Ultra subscriber. However, based on past rollouts, don't be surprised if Google eventually makes it free. Google's AI Overviews now let you upload entire files like PDFs or images and ask questions about them directly. It's a time saver when you need to summarize a large document or, if you need to scan that document, you can do that, too. Just upload it in the chat and Google will take care of the rest. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Combined with the new follow-up feature, Google is turning search into something closer to a true AI assistant (and more than just a results page). Another big update from Google. NotebookLM can now generate Video Overviews, narrated, slide-style summaries of your documents complete with quotes, diagrams and data pulled directly from your files. You can also create multiple versions of audio, video or visual outputs in the same notebook and mix formats (like listening to a summary while viewing a mind map). It's a big step toward making research more interactive. This week, users discovered that shared ChatGPT chats were surfacing in Google search results, even ones with sensitive or private information. OpenAI quickly disabled the "Make public" toggle that enabled sharing, and it's now working with search engines to de-index exposed chats. If you've ever shared a conversation link, it might be worth double-checking your settings and deleting anything you don't want out in the wild (aka the internet). Your Edge browser is now a full-blown AI assistant. Microsoft rolled out Copilot Mode, a smart sidebar that adapts to whatever you're doing online. For example, if you're reading an article, Copilot Mode can take over and summarize it. If you're writing an email, the AI will suggest improvements. And if you're shopping online, it can compare products in real time. It's one of the most proactive AI upgrades we've seen from Microsoft yet. Need help studying? ChatGPT's new Study Mode turns the chatbot into a personalized tutor. Students of all levels and skill levels can take advantage of this AI-powered opportunity to learn more efficiently. All you do is choose your subject, set your level and decide how you want to learn; via flashcards, concept breakdowns, practice problems or Q&A. Whether you're prepping for a test or just brushing up, this free feature is worth a try. A new capability inside ChatGPT is Agent mode. Unlike a typical chatbot, the Agent can actually do things for you like browse the web, organize files or run multi-step tasks such as creating and emailing a report. When I put Agent Mode to the test, I discovered the AI could juggle real-world assignments with surprising ease, though it still needs some hand-holding. I don't trust it completely yet, but it will be interesting to see how it evolves. A new Amazon-backed startup called Showrunner is making waves by offering what it calls the 'Netflix of AI.' Using just a short prompt, you can generate an entire animated TV episode and even insert yourself into the story. It uses AI to script, voice, and animate everything. As an early member, I have tried the AI tools and was impressed by how easy it is to use. Plus, the opportunity to see what the community of Showrunner users has created helps to spark new ideas. From smarter search and study tools to evolving AI privacy issues, this week proves just how fast the AI landscape is changing. Tech giants like Google, Microsoft and OpenAI continue to push the boundaries of what AI can do while new players like Showrunner hint at where things might be headed next. If you blink, you might miss something big. But don't worry we'll be here every week to break it down. Want to stay ahead? Bookmark our AI hub and check back for hands-on tests, expert tips and the latest news you need to know. AI is constantly evolving and the last few days prove just how quickly things change. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Time Business News
3 hours ago
- Time Business News
xAI, Elon, and the Billion-Dollar Race for Developer Mindshare
In what's becoming one of the most aggressive moves in the AI arms race, Elon Musk's xAI has secured billions in funding as it looks to challenge OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. But beyond the flashy funding rounds and model comparisons lies a quieter—but arguably more important—battle: the competition for developer loyalty. As xAI rapidly scales up its infrastructure and capabilities, it's clear that the end goal isn't just creating a better model—it's becoming the go-to platform for builders. In the past, tech ecosystems won by locking in users. Today, it's about winning developers. Whoever becomes the preferred backend for AI-infused apps, agents, and workflows will dictate the shape of the next decade's innovation. xAI's new Grok model, now tightly integrated into X (formerly Twitter), is clearly just the beginning. With open-source flirtations and promises of transparency, xAI seems to be positioning itself not just as an alternative to OpenAI—but as the hacker's AI platform. And it makes sense: the companies building deep relationships with developers now are laying the groundwork for long-term dominance. 'AI isn't just a race for models – it's a race for developers,' said Kyle McCarthy, a startup growth strategist. 'The companies winning right now are the ones building tools devs want to use.' For early-stage founders, this shift carries major implications: Developer mindshare = platform power. Whether you're using AI for code generation, analytics, or customer support, the underlying model provider is becoming a strategic decision. Whether you're using AI for code generation, analytics, or customer support, the underlying model provider is becoming a strategic decision. Distribution now flows through ecosystems. OpenAI's tight relationship with Microsoft, and xAI's integration with X, show how channels are as important as the tech itself. OpenAI's tight relationship with Microsoft, and xAI's integration with X, show how channels are as important as the tech itself. Loyalty isn't locked yet. Many developers are still evaluating options, meaning there's a real window for xAI—or any alternative—to win them over. Elon Musk's ventures are rarely quiet, and xAI is no exception. The team has already poached talent from Google and OpenAI, launched increasingly powerful models, and is reportedly working toward tighter integrations across Tesla, X, and SpaceX. The playbook is familiar: move fast, promise big, and make it hard to ignore. Whether xAI can deliver on its lofty vision remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: in the world of AI infrastructure, developer trust is the new oil. And the drilling has just begun. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Big tech has spent $155bn on AI this year. It's about to spend hundreds of billions more
The US's largest companies have spent 2025 locked in a competition to spend more money than one another, lavishing $155bn on the development of artificial intelligence, more than the US government has spent on education, training, employment and social services in the 2025 fiscal year so far. Based on the most recent financial disclosures of Silicon Valley's biggest players, the race is about to accelerate to hundreds of billions in a single year. Over the past two weeks, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet, Google's parent, have shared their quarterly public financial reports. Each disclosed that their year-to-date capital expenditure, a figure that refers to the money companies spend to acquire or upgrade tangible assets, already totals tens of billions. Capex, as the term is abbreviated, is a proxy for technology companies' spending on AI because the technology requires gargantuan investments in physical infrastructure, namely data centers, which require large amounts of power, water and expensive semiconductor chips. Google said during its most recent earnings call that its capital expenditure 'primarily reflects investments in servers and data centers to support AI'. Meta's year-to-date capital expenditure amounted to $30.7bn, doubling the $15.2bn figure from the same time last year, per its earnings report. For the most recent quarter alone, the company spent $17bn on capital expenditures, also double the same period in 2024, $8.5bn. Alphabet reported nearly $40bn in capex to date for the first two quarters of the current fiscal year, and Amazon reported $55.7bn. Microsoft said it would spend more than $30bn in the current quarter to build out the data centers powering its AI services. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said the current quarter's capex would be at least 50% more than the outlay during the same period a year earlier and greater than the company's record capital expenditures of $24.2bn in the quarter to June. 'We will continue to invest against the expansive opportunity ahead,' Hood said. For the coming fiscal year, big tech's total capital expenditure is slated to balloon enormously, surpassing the already eye-popping sums of the previous year. Microsoft plans to unload about $100bn on AI in the next fiscal year, CEO Satya Nadella said Wednesday. Meta plans to spend between $66bn and $72bn. Alphabet plans to spend $85bn, significantly higher than its previous estimation of $75bn. Amazon estimated that its 2025 expenditure would come to $100bn as it plows money into Amazon Web Services, which analysts now expect to amount to $118bn. In total, the four tech companies will spend more than $400bn on capex in the coming year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The multibillion-dollar figures represent mammoth investments, which the Journal points out is larger than the European Union's quarterly spending on defense. However, the tech giants can't seem to spend enough for their investors. Microsoft, Google and Meta informed Wall Street analysts last quarter that their total capex would be higher than previously estimated. In the case of all three companies, investors were thrilled, and shares in each company soared after their respective earnings calls. Microsoft's market capitalization hit $4tn the day after its report. Even Apple, the cagiest of the tech giants, signaled that it would boost its spending on AI in the coming year by a major amount, either via internal investments or acquisitions. The company's quarterly capex rose to $3.46bn, up from $2.15bn during the same period last year. The iPhone maker reported blockbuster earnings Thursday, with rebounding iPhone sales and better-than-expected business in China, but it is still seen as lagging farthest behind on development and deployment of AI products among the tech giants. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said Thursday that the company was reallocating a 'fair number' of employees to focus on artificial intelligence and that the 'heart of our AI strategy' is to increase investments and 'embed' AI across all of its devices and platforms. Cook refrained from disclosing exactly how much Apple is spending, however. 'We are significantly growing our investment, I'm not putting specific numbers behind that,' he said. Smaller players are trying to keep up with the incumbents' massive spending and capitalize on the gold rush. OpenAI announced at the end of the week of earnings that it had raised $8.3bn in investment, part of a planned $40bn round of funding, valuing the startup, whose ChatGPT chatbot kicked in 2022, at $300bn. Sign in to access your portfolio
