Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) CEO discusses with Trump and Musk, committing to invest $80 billion globally to build AI data centers.

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) CEO Satya Nadella discussed artificial intelligence and cybersecurity issues in a meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, becoming the latest tech industry leader to offer advice to the new government. The American company stated in a release that the conversation covered a range of topics, including Microsoft Corporation's commitment to invest $80 billion globally in building artificial intelligence data centers. According to the statement, over $50 billion will be used in the US, creating job opportunities in the country. Microsoft Corporation President Brad Smith and Trump's campaign partner JD Vance attended the meeting. Following Trump's victory in November last year, Silicon Valley tech giants have been trying to improve their relationship with him, despite frequent clashes during his first term. Many individuals have visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the incoming president and Musk held a series of private meetings and dinners to discuss plans for the upcoming term. Smith warned the incoming Trump administration against implementing "harsh regulations" on artificial intelligence. Smith wrote this month: "The most significant public policy priority in the US should be to ensure that private enterprise in America can continue to flourish." Smith also wrote that the US needs "a pragmatic export control policy that can ensure the strong security of artificial intelligence components in trusted data centers, while providing the ability for American companies to rapidly expand and offer a reliable source of supply to many US allies and friend countries." Microsoft Corporation and cloud infrastructure provider Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) have been competing to expand computing capabilities by building new data centers. In the last fiscal year ending in June 2024, Microsoft Corporation's capital expenditure exceeded $50 billion, with the majority related to server cluster construction driven by demand for artificial intelligence services. Most of the spending on data centers is for high-performance chips produced by companies like NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) and Dell Technologies, Inc. Class C (DELL.US). Large-scale artificial intelligence server clusters require a significant amount of power, prompting Microsoft Corporation to reach an agreement to restart a reactor at the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, which partially melted down in 1979. Amazon.com, Inc. and Alphabet Inc. Class C also signed nuclear power agreements.