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Tag: Brent Thill

  • Microsoft Looks to Invest $10 Billion in OpenAI and ChatGPT

    Microsoft Looks to Invest $10 Billion in OpenAI and ChatGPT

    OpenAI’s ChatGPT has taken the world by storm and Microsoft is not immune, with the Redmond giant set to invest $10 billion in the firm and its tech.

    ChatGPT is one of the most realistic AI-driven chat platforms available, providing answers with almost human-like responses. Researchers, students, writers, and more have tasked the AI with various written tasks, many of which are decently good.

    Microsoft has been a long-time investor in OpenAI, leveraging its investment to gain exclusive access to some of its AI tech. News broke late last year that Microsoft was looking to increase its investment, but the latest report says it plans to invest as much as $10 billion in the AI company.

    According to Semafor, this latest round of funding, which includes various venture capital firms, would see OpenAI valued at $29 billion. Once the deal closes, Microsoft will receive 75% of the company’s profits until its investment is paid off. After that, profits will be split according to ownership, with Microsoft accounting for 49%, other owners accounting for another 49%, and OpenAI’s parent accounting for the remaining 2%,

    Microsoft clearly sees ChatGPT as a way for it to better take on Google’s dominance in the search market. The company is looking to integrate ChatGPT into a version of Bing, but some analysts are not convinced the AI tool can help Microsoft make up ground.

    Brent Thill of Jefferies told CNBC:

    “There is incredible amount of promise, but today, in terms of real time, it’s not there.”

  • Jefferies Raises Microsoft Stock Target on Fundamentals

    Jefferies Raises Microsoft Stock Target on Fundamentals

    Jefferies analyst Brent Thill has raised his price target for Microsoft’s stock on what he sees as strong fundamentals.

    Microsoft has been on a tear in recent quarters, boosted by its Azure cloud computing platform. The company is currently in second place in the cloud industry, behind AWS, but many experts see Microsoft’s cloud platform continuing to benefit from its legacy business. Given how much of the business world runs on Microsoft, migrating to Azure is a no-brainer for many Microsoft-based shops.

    With the company set to announce its quarterly results tomorrow, Brent Thill has raised his target price for the stock from $310 to $335, according to TheStreet.

    “Microsoft been a significant outperformer year to date, up 30% vs the software index, setting the bar slightly higher for MSFT shares going into the” earnings report, Thill said.

    “Key items to watch are fiscal 2022 margin pressure, elevated expectations and more color on recent merger acquisition and broader aspirations,” Thill added.