Microsoft is increasing capital expenditures to approximately $190 billion by 2026 to support its artificial intelligence ambitions. This surge in investment focuses on data centers and AI hardware. The spending is squeezing free cash flow, which remains largely flat despite rising revenue.
Azure has become the primary gateway for Chinese technology firms, including ByteDance and Tencent, to access OpenAI's GPT models. OpenAI does not operate directly in the Chinese market.
GitHub transitioned its Copilot programming assistant to a usage-based billing model in June 2026. This change aligns costs with heavy consumption to refine Microsoft's AI monetization strategy.