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Khaleej Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Microsoft's AI edge under scrutiny as OpenAI turns to rivals for cloud services
Microsoft investors head into Wednesday's earnings with one big question: is the company's artificial intelligence edge at risk as partner OpenAI turns to rivals Google, Oracle and CoreWeave for cloud services? Exclusive licensing deals and access to OpenAI's cutting-edge models have made Microsoft one of the biggest winners of the generative AI boom, fueling growth in its Azure cloud business and pushing its market value toward $4 trillion. In the April-June quarter, the tie-up is expected to have driven a 34.8% increase in Azure revenue, in line with the company's forecast and higher than the 33% rise in the previous three months, according to data from Visible Alpha. But that deal is being renegotiated as OpenAI eyes a public listing, with media reports suggesting a deadlock over how much access Microsoft will retain to ChatGPT maker's technology and its stake if OpenAI converts into a public-benefit corporation. The conversion cannot proceed without Microsoft's sign-off and is crucial for a $40 billion funding round led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group, $20 billion of which is contingent on the restructuring being completed by the end of the year. OpenAI, which recently deepened its Oracle tie-up with a planned 4.5 gigawatts data center capacity, has also added Google Cloud among its suppliers for computing capacity. UBS analysts said investor views on the Microsoft–OpenAI partnership are divided, though the software giant holds an upper hand. "Microsoft's leadership earned enough credibility … such that the company will end up negotiating terms that will be in the interest of its shareholders," the analysts said. Some of that confidence is reflected in the company's stock price, which has risen by more than a fifth so far this year. In the April-June period, Microsoft's fiscal fourth quarter, the company likely benefited from a weaker dollar, stronger non-AI Azure demand and PC makers pulling forward orders for its Windows products ahead of possible U.S. tariffs. Revenue is expected to have risen 14% to $73.81 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG, its best growth in three quarters. Profit is estimated to have increased 14.2% to $25.16 billion, slightly slower than the previous quarter as operating costs rose. Capital spending will also be in focus after rival Alphabet raised its annual outlay by $10 billion last week. Microsoft has repeatedly said it remains capacity constrained on AI, and in April signaled continued growth in capex after planned spending of over $80 billion last fiscal year, though at a slower pace and on shorter-lived assets such as AI chips. Dan Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust who owns Microsoft shares, said the spending has been paying off. "Investors may still be underestimating the potential for Microsoft's AI business to drive durable consumption growth in the agentic AI era."
Business Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
AI ‘agents' aren't matching up to the buzzwords
THE biggest issue with the term artificial intelligence (AI) 'agent' is that everyone seems to have a different definition for what it means. Most often, it is used to describe an AI system that can act autonomously and work with outside applications to complete increasingly complicated tasks. The buzziest example from Asia has been Manus, which went mega-viral earlier this year. But it has also morphed into a marketing buzzword, slapped onto everything from products that surf the Web on their own to bots that will eventually achieve human decision-making skills – and could be coming for your job. In China, where reports of a new agentic tool seem to emerge every week, some firms have been accused of labelling their products AI agents just to capitalise on the hype. Against this confusing backdrop, SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son – known for adding zeros to his bold aspirations – says that he plans to deploy one billion AI agents within his company by the end of the year. Speaking at a business conference in Tokyo last week, Son waxed poetic about how these systems will be able to think for themselves, self-replicate and work 24 hours a day. They will participate in meetings, make phone calls and send e-mails, he said, and will evolve on their own. He envisioned a boon in productivity. A comparison he used was to give workers the power of Senju Kannon, a Buddhist figure with a thousand arms and eyes. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up It is part of the breathless praise, and stretched analogies, that have been heaped on AI agents from some of the tech sector's most influential voices over the past year. On Jul 18, after releasing new agentic features in ChatGPT, OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman said that watching the tool take on tasks 'has been a real 'feel the AGI (artificial general intelligence)' moment for me.' (Others have been less than impressed.) It is worth noting that AGI is yet another overused industry term, loosely defined as AI that is as smart or smarter than a human – but similarly spurs disagreements over what exactly that is. More than halfway through what has been widely heralded as the year of the AI agent, then, it is worth unpacking how we got here. And perhaps we need to find a better term than agent. These things are not James Bond. Behind the global push for agents is the hope that this next iteration of AI is what will finally fulfil the promise of making workers more productive (or redundant?), and bring about some returns on the sky-high investments. A McKinsey report published last month said agents are the key to break out of what it calls the 'generative AI (GenAI) paradox' – or data that indicates nearly eight in 10 companies are using GenAI, yet just as many 'report no significant bottom-line impact'. The report urged business leaders to reinvent their entire workflows to centre around agents, to boost operational agility and unlock new revenue opportunities. Still, it also warned that they 'introduce a new class of systemic risks', including the ominous 'controlled autonomy'. Not only does launching a billion agents in less than six months seem technically unfeasible, but this also makes it sound perilous. The reality is that the road to infusing human-like decision-making skills into AI programs is a long one. Cars have been around for well over a hundred years, but autonomous vehicles remain far from mainstream, despite loud predictions over the past decade that they are just around the corner. That does not mean it is all hype. It is the same for AI. It makes sense that agents built off large language models are good at solving text-based problems, like coding or compiling research papers. They have also shown prowess at mundane and repetitive tasks, where the risk of giving too much agency is much more contained. And recent updates allow certain models to take on multi-step tasks, even if they still require some human oversight. But the path to fully granting autonomy to agents in the workplace is at least half a decade away. It will require major tech infrastructure upgrades that give these systems greater access to the tools we all use to do our work, and new safeguards for how to govern that sensitive data. It will also demand the establishment of new standards for liability if these tools make a mistake. Meantime, we should cool off comparing the technology to gods or even humans. It only compounds the hype – and the angst people feel about machines snatching their livelihoods. It would be more useful to embrace AI as normal technology, recognising it can have a major impact on society, but stripping away the idea that it has its own agency. Instead of anthropomorphising machines, business leaders must focus on how to use AI tools to solve real problems that humans face in the workplace. Only then will it impact productivity and bottom lines. And without a clear definition for what an agent even is, one billion of them can mean everything – and nothing. BLOOMBERG


Business Recorder
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Japan's Nikkei rises as investors digest election results
TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average climbed on Tuesday, as investors returning from an extended holiday weekend reacted positively to the outcome of the upper house election, which aligned with market expectations. As of 0023 GMT, the Nikkei was up 1.1% at 40,241.61. The broader Topix rose 0.78% to 2,856.49. Japan's ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power even as he vowed to remain party leader. The election was closely monitored as Ishiba's party also lost control of the more powerful lower house in elections last year and his Liberal Democratic Party was facing calls from opposition parties pledging to cut taxes. 'Investors bought stocks as the election outcome was in line with their expectations,' said Takamasa Ikeda, senior portfolio manager at GCI Asset Management. 'And they thought the election outcome would not have much impact on Japan's policy framework immediately, as Ishiba said he has no plans to expand his coalition.' Shares of technology investor SoftBank Group jumped 4%, making them the largest contributor to the Nikkei's gains. Chip-related Advantest and Tokyo Electron rose 2.24% and 0.95%, respectively. Heavy machinery maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries jumped 5.4% to become the top percentage gainer in the Nikkei. Medical equipment maker Olympus fell 2%, becoming the biggest drag in the Nikkei.


Zawya
18-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Japan's Nikkei ends lower, off 2-week high amid election outcome worries
TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei share average slipped from a more than two-week high to end lower on Friday as investors weighed the outcome of the nation's upper house election on the weekend. The Nikkei fell 0.21% to 39,819.11. Earlier, it had risen to as high as 40,087.59, its highest level since July 1, underpinned by the strong performance of Wall Street. The S&P 500 stock index and the Nasdaq Composite both finished at record highs on Thursday, as investors embraced strong economic data and earnings reports that showed American consumers remained willing to spend. For the week, the Nikkei rose 0.63% to snap two straight weeks of losses. The broader Topix slipped 0.19% to 2,834.48. "Investors did not want to take a risk in buying stocks ahead of the national election on the weekend," said Yugo Tsuboi, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its partner Komeito are expected to lose their majority in the upper house on Sunday. Strategists now focus on whether Ishiba will remain in his position or step down after the election, as a gauge of the nation's potential policy shift, which could lead to a cut in the national consumption tax. Chip-related Advantest fell 4.44%, the biggest drag on the Nikkei. Disco was the largest percentage loser on the Nikkei, tanking 8.79%, as the chipmaking device supplier's quarterly operating profit forecast missed market expectations. Technology investor SoftBank Group rose 5%, the biggest percentage gainer and the biggest support for the index. Chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron erased early losses to end 0.29% higher. Of more than 1,600 stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's prime section, 33% rose and 63% fell, and 2% traded flat.


Qatar Tribune
17-07-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
SoftBank CEO pitches autonomous AI agent system for corporate use
Agencies SoftBank Group Corp Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said Wednesday the company is developing 'the world's first' artificial intelligence agent system that can autonomously perform complex tasks. 'The AI agents will think for themselves and improve on their the era of humans doing the programming is coming to an end,' Son told an event in Tokyo attended by business people. He revealed the new system will first be introduced at the technology conglomerate with 100 million clients and 50,000 employees and said such AI agents could work 24 hours a day to compile strategies, program and negotiate on behalf of humans. 'I'm excited to see how the AI agents will interact with one another and advance given tasks,' Son said, adding that the AI agents, to achieve the goals, will 'self-evolve and self-replicate' to execute subtasks. Unlike generative AI, which needs human commands to carry out tasks, an AI agent performs tasks on its own by designing workflows with data available to it. It is expected to enhance productivity at companies by helping their decision-making and problem-solving. The project comes as SoftBank Group and OpenAI, the developer of chatbot ChatGPT, said in February they had agreed to establish a joint venture to promote AI services for corporations. Joining Son virtually at the event, Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, underscored the significance of AI agents, calling the technology a 'remarkable step forward.' 'I think the first era of AI, initial era was about an AI that you could ask anything and it could tell you all these things,' Altman said. 'Now as these (AI) agents roll out, AI can do things for can ask the computer to do something in natural language, a sort of vaguely defined complex task, and it can understand you and execute it for you,' Altman said. 'The productivity and potential that it unlocks for the world is quite huge.'