Microsoft's demand backlog more than doubled to $625 billion, fueled by its partnership with OpenAI, but investors reacted negatively to slower revenue growth and high spending, according to Fortune. The tech giant's stock tumbled nearly 5% in after-hours trading following the release of its second-quarter earnings.
The earnings report revealed Microsoft surpassed $50 billion in quarterly revenue for its cloud business. However, Azure revenue growth slowed, and capacity constraints are expected to persist until at least the end of Microsoft's fiscal year in June, Fortune reported. During the earnings call, Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood addressed investor concerns about the Azure platform's revenue growth amid rising capital expenditures.
Meanwhile, Google is integrating new AI features into Chrome, leveraging its Gemini model to enhance browsing capabilities, Hacker News reported. These updates, available for MacOS, Windows, and Chromebook Plus, aim to provide smarter assistance and agentic browsing. Parisa Tabriz, Vice President of Chrome, announced the updates, highlighting their potential to improve multitasking across the web with a new side panel.
In other AI developments, personalized AI systems are increasingly focusing on remembering user preferences, raising privacy concerns, according to MIT Technology Review. Google's Personal Intelligence, which utilizes Gmail, photos, search, and YouTube histories to personalize the Gemini chatbot, exemplifies this trend. Similar efforts are underway at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. MIT Technology Review noted the potential advantages of these features but emphasized the need to address the new risks they introduce.
Separately, Life Biosciences, a Boston startup, received FDA approval to begin the first human test of a rejuvenation method targeting age reversal, MIT Technology Review reported. The company plans to treat eye disease using a reprogramming concept that has attracted significant investment from Silicon Valley firms.
Finally, ServiceNow reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street's growth forecasts for the ninth consecutive quarter, Fortune noted. CEO Bill McDermott aims to differentiate ServiceNow from standard SaaS businesses, but the company's stock has faced skepticism and declined 40% over the past year despite strong results.
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