Tech Giants Seek Partnerships, Talent to Speed Up AI Deployment
Earlier this week, Microsoft Corp. named artificial intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman chief of its consumer AI business and hired most of the staff from his Inflection AI startup. A day before, Bloomberg reported that Alphabet Inc.’s Google was in talks to license its Gemini AI engine to Apple Inc. HT Image The moves suggest that despite pouring billions of dollars into partnerships, investments and product development, Microsoft and Google are struggling to figure out how to capitalize on generative artificial intelligence. “Companies must constantly be on the lookout for the best talent and technology to fill gaps in their portfolios.” Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella isn’t satisfied with his team’s efforts to create consumer products, according to two people familiar with his thinking. He likened the work to sculpting and said “that art requires you to know the real sweet spot of when a piece of technology is ready and how to dress the experience so that it has an essence and a character which is familiar and accessible and trusted.” Nadella also knows that because AI will completely transform the industry, even Microsoft’s flagship products aren’t immune to disruption—whether by a peer like Google or a startup that hasn’t even been invented yet. Pushing Google’s AI tools to as many devices as possible could help make them the ones users turn to reflexively, as they do with the company’s search engine, creating a virtuous cycle whereby the programs become sharper and sharper with additional user data.
New AI entertainment studio gets backing from Peter Chernin, Andreessen Horowitz
Discover Related
Last Chance To Future-Proof Careers: 2025's Most Critical IT Skills
Nuclear power is back. And this time, AI can help manage the reactors.
India uniquely poised to combine sprawling DPI with power of AI: Nandan Nilekani
Job seekers turn to AI tools to gain a competitive edge. It can also backfire
'Patriotic Chest Thumping Not Real Innovation': AI Founder Calls Out Bhavish Aggarwal’s Krutrim Over Llama 4 Hype
Tariffs are coming for the AI boom
EU Bets on gigafactories to catch up with US, China in AI race
Democratic US senators question Google and Microsofts AI deals
'Prove You're Better Than AI': Shopify CEO Draws A Line In The Sand On Hiring
Google says AI could cause ‘substantial harm’ to humans: Here’s how it plans to stop it
Letter from 2035: Did we give Agentic AI too much agency?
Shopify CEO tells teams must show AI can’t do the job before hiring: Report
Microsoft workers say they’ve been fired after 50th anniversary protest over Israel contract
Microsoft fires Indian-American employee who confronted Gates, Nadella at 50th anniversary meet; who is Vaniya Agrawal?
Microsoft Fires Workers After Israel Contract Protest
Shopify makes use of AI ‘baseline expectation’: ‘Learn, adapt as a team,’ says CEO in ‘leaked’ internal memo
The AI Race Has Gotten Crowded—and China Is Closing In on the US
'Hypocrites': Indian-origin techie confronts Microsoft bosses, quits over Gaza
Microsoft, turning 50, dials up Copilot actions to stay in AI game
Microsoft AI CEOs remarks interrupted by pro-Palestinian protester
With Trump tariffs, even AI could get more expensive
Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event