Washington D.C.- In recent years, the software giant Microsoft has notably expanded its investment portfolio by targeting companies specializing in large language models (LLMs) across various countries.
This shift reflects Microsoft’s evolving role in the technology sector, showcasing a strategic move towards investments in emerging technologies and innovation like generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), akin to the strategies employed by private equity (PE) firms.
The most recent development in this series is Microsoft’s strategic investment of $1.5 billion in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based AI firm G42. Microsoft aims for this investment to expedite AI development and global expansion.
The Emirati AI firm G42 will utilize Microsoft Azure to deploy its AI applications and services including its LLM Jais, the world’s most advanced Arabic LLM, delivering advanced AI solutions to global public sector clients and large enterprises.
In February 2024, Microsoft unveiled a multi-year partnership with Mistral AI, a Paris-based GenAI startup. As part of this collaboration, Microsoft is reportedly investing $16.3 million (€15 million) in the French startup.
“This partnership with Microsoft enables Mistral AI with access to Azure’s cutting-edge AI infrastructure, to accelerate the development and deployment of their next generation large language models (LLMs) and represents an opportunity for Mistral AI to unlock new commercial opportunities, expand to global markets, and foster ongoing research collaboration,” reads a Microsoft post.
A new approach with a distinct objective
Traditionally, PE firms invest in companies to optimize their business processes, boost profitability, and ultimately exit at a profit. Microsoft, although primarily a software giant, is adopting a similar approach but with a distinct objective: to enhance its technological capabilities and market presence in the AI sector. By investing in various LLM companies worldwide, Microsoft is leveraging its substantial capital reserves and technological prowess to possibly reshape competitive dynamics across numerous industries.
According to industry experts, Microsoft’s interest in LLMs isn’t just about financial returns. These investments are strategic, aimed at securing cutting-edge AI technologies that can drive future growth and integration across Microsoft’s extensive product suite, including Azure, Office 365, and Bing. Each investment in an LLM firm is potentially a stepping stone to developing more advanced, efficient, and tailored AI solutions that can be integrated into Microsoft’s existing and future products.
“Microsoft’s strategic investment strategy mirrors that of a private equity firm, granting the tech giant the power to steer the development of pivotal LLM technologies. This proactive approach not only ensures Microsoft’s leadership in AI but also enables it to mold the ecosystem in which these technologies flourish,” says Prof. Al Naqvi, CEO of American Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AIAI).
Through targeted investments, Prof. Al Naqvi says, Microsoft gains control over innovative advancements in AI, ensuring that the most cutting-edge LLM developments can be seamlessly integrated into their products before competitors.
The onset of strategic contest
It is worth mentioning here that in January 2023 Microsoft had confirmed a $10 billion investment into OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. Earlier in February this year, Microsoft had announced investing $5.6 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure for Spain and Germany.
The experts believe that Microsoft’s global investment strategy has the potential to drive up competition in the AI sector, compelling other tech giants and startups to accelerate their own innovations and investment efforts. This could result in quicker technological advancements and possibly lower costs over time.
However, as Microsoft and similar entities heavily invest in specialized technology sectors, market consolidation around key players may increase. This could diminish competition in the long term, potentially leading to fewer, larger companies dominating the AI space.
For new startups, competing independently in the competitive AI market may become increasingly challenging, as major players like Microsoft continue to absorb innovative newcomers. This could create a landscape where successful entry by new firms depends on alignment with or investment from industry giants like Microsoft.