Microsoft Backs AI Push with $25B Bond, Expands Azure Partnerships

Key Takeaways

• IBM renewed its US Open AI partnership through 2031 and launched watsonx Orchestrate for managing AI agents
• Microsoft plans $175B-$190B in 2026 capital spending on chips and data centers, backed by $25B bond offering
• Anthropic's IPO shows $161.2B Broadcom deal plus $100B+ contracts with Google, Amazon, and SpaceX
• Meta refused to take down AI-generated videos showing coaches abusing young athletes despite user reports
• Elon Musk predicts orbital AI computing could exceed ground-based capacity by late 2028 via SpaceX's Colossus project
• Axon launched Body 5 and Body 5 Pro body cameras with 25x processing power for AI tools
• BDC launched Mission AI and AI Studio to help Canadian SMEs adopt AI, led by entrepreneurs Dominic Gagnon and Raff Paquin
• Doximity introduced DoseCheck, an AI tool verifying medication dosing against FDA labels for doctors
• Schneider Electric CEO says AI infrastructure demand will stay strong through at least 2028
• Analysts predict over 40% of agentic AI projects may be canceled by 2027 due to rising token costs

IBM updates AI tools and renews US Open partnership

IBM renewed its role as the US Open's AI and Cloud Partner through 2031. It also launched new AI agent, security, and infrastructure tools. Third quarter 2026 revenue was US$17,103 million and net income was US$2,190 million. The new tools include watsonx Orchestrate and HashiCorp Vault integrations to help manage AI agents. Analysts expect revenue growth of 4.2% yearly and profits of US$11.7 billion by 2029.

Microsoft bond funding supports its AI infrastructure push

Microsoft expanded AI partnerships including a cloud and data overhaul for Estée Lauder on Azure. It also completed bond issues as part of a planned US$25 billion investment grade offering. Management plans roughly US$175 billion to US$190 billion in 2026 capital spending on chips and data centers. Analysts expect revenue growth of about 20.2% per year and profits rising from US$142.6 billion to US$221.5 billion by 2029. The bond funding supports heavy AI infrastructure investments.

Axon launches AI body cameras with stronger processing

Axon Enterprise launched Axon Body 5 and Axon Body 5 Pro, AI era body cameras with 25x processing power and longer battery life. The devices run multiple AI tools and connect to software like Axon Fusus, Draft One, and Axon Assistant. Analysts project revenue growth of about 28.8% per year with earnings rising from US$199.3 million to US$444.1 million by 2029. The company recently issued US$1 billion in convertible notes. The new cameras aim to strengthen its subscription software ecosystem.

BDC launches AI programs to help small businesses adopt AI

BDC launched Mission AI and AI Studio, two entrepreneur-led initiatives to help Canadian businesses adopt AI. A survey found 69% of Canadian SMEs are AI Novices and 83% are still learning about AI adoption. Dominic Gagnon will lead Mission AI and Raff Paquin will lead AI Studio. Mission AI will help SMEs find AI solutions for tasks like processing invoices and answering customer questions. BDC is invested in over 300 Canadian AI companies totaling nearly $800 million.

BDC taps entrepreneurs to lead new AI initiatives

The Business Development Bank of Canada launched Mission AI and Studio AI with two entrepreneurs leading the programs. Dominic Gagnon, founder of Connect&GO, leads Mission AI which matches SMEs with Canadian AI solutions. Raff Paquin, former Frank & Oak CTO, leads Studio AI which aims to reduce the time for businesses to receive funding from BDC. The programs follow a study showing most Canadian SMEs are still in the early learning phase of AI adoption. Mission AI will test tools in real businesses to find what helps improve productivity.

Meta refuses to take down AI videos of coaches abusing young athletes

Facebook is hosting AI-generated videos showing older coaches inappropriately touching young female athletes in sports like gymnastics and ballet. Users reported ten accounts sharing this content, but a week later Facebook said eight of them did not violate its rules. Safety advocates say the videos normalize abuse and are deeply disturbing. The content includes graphic touching and sexualized behavior disguised as coaching. Meta defended its process by saying it reviews all reports using the same standards.

Elon Musk predicts orbital AI will outpace data centers by 2028

Elon Musk forecasts that AI computing power in orbit could exceed new ground-based capacity by late 2028 through SpaceX's Colossus project. Investor Shaun Maguire projects SpaceX revenue could reach $731 billion in 2028, though these forecasts carry major uncertainty. Musk says SpaceX's capital efficiency is being underestimated, but execution, political, and supply-chain risks remain. The economics are still unclear, and Musk notes Grok Bot's operating costs are currently too high compared to its revenue.

Doximity launches AI dosing tool DoseCheck for doctors

Doximity has introduced DoseCheck, an AI tool that verifies medication dosing suggestions to help reduce medical errors. The feature is built into Doximity Ask and cross-checks dosing advice against FDA labels and guidelines. Doximity is also integrating UpToDate's clinical content into its AI support tools. The company aims to deepen its role in clinical workflows for the 165 health systems and 250,000 prescribers already using its platform. Investors will watch whether these tools drive broader enterprise AI adoption by fiscal Q3 2027.

Schneider Electric expects strong AI infrastructure demand through 2028

Schneider Electric CEO Olivier Blum says demand for AI infrastructure will remain very strong until at least 2028. He discussed the company's recent acquisitions of US software firms PTC and Cognite. The company believes AI-related infrastructure spending will continue to grow. The outlook reflects broader industry confidence in sustained AI investment over the next several years.

Anthropic's spending plan reveals how AI investment really works

Anthropic's IPO prospectus commits hundreds of billions of dollars to computing infrastructure across many partners. The largest deal is $161.2 billion with Broadcom, while Google, Amazon, and SpaceX each have over $100 billion in contracts. The spending touches every layer of the AI supply chain, from chip fabrication to power and applications. The article explains that AI is a supply chain, not a single sector, and different layers face very different risks. AI-related debt has become the largest segment of the US investment-grade market, raising concerns about credit exposure.

U.S. stocks climb before market open on AI and earnings news

U.S. premarket stocks rose as investors reacted to analyst upgrades, earnings reports, and AI trading. CrowdStrike gained 3.4% after Deutsche Bank upgraded it to buy. Rivian rose 3.8% following a UBS upgrade. Estée Lauder jumped 3.5% after beating earnings expectations. Marvell also moved higher after agreeing to acquire Lumentum in an all-stock deal valued at $115 billion.

Why AI token costs grow out of control at scale

Enterprise AI teams often face surprise token costs once projects move from demo to production. A simple question can require many agent calls across different systems, and each call adds context, retries, and processing that are all billed. One company cut its 2026 AI budget by April due to heavy Claude Code use. Analysts predict over 40% of agentic AI projects may be canceled by 2027 because of rising costs. The best way to reduce spending is to use fewer tokens through better architecture.

Contentsquare launches AI-first platform for human and agent journeys

Contentsquare released a new Experience Platform that tracks human visitors, LLMs, and autonomous AI agents in one place. The platform includes agentic AI layer Sense, which can run experiments from hypothesis to revenue validation. It also added integrations with Dynamic Yield, Optimizely, and Kameleoon. The system supports multi-session journey analysis, chatbot tracking, and attribution across LLM and AI-referred traffic.

Sources

• How Investors Are Reacting To IBM (IBM) AI Product Launches
• AI Bond Funding Might Change The Case For Investing In Microsoft (MSFT)
• Is New AI Body Cameras Altering The Investment Case For Axon (AXON)?
• Less AI hype, more results: BDC hires entrepreneurs to lead two new AI-driven initiatives
• BDC launches two entrepreneur-led AI programs to make small businesses, and itself, more productive
• Meta Is Refusing to Remove AI-Generated Videos of Coaches Inappropriately Touching Young Athletes When Users Report Them
• Elon Musk sees orbital AI surpassing data centers as Colossus leads
• What Is Doximity (DOCS) Really Building With Its New AI Dosing Tool?
• AI infrastructure demand to stay strong until at least 2028: Schneider Electric
• Anthropic’s compute bill shows where AI investment really flows
• U.S. premarket stocks rise on analyst upgrades, earnings and AI trading
• The Token Trap: Why AI Costs Spiral at Scale
• Contentsquare New AI-First Experience Platform Optimizes Human, Agent Journey