Microsoft CEO Nadella Says AI Is A Tidal Wave That's As Big As The Internet

Twenty-eight years ago, Microsoft was faced with the rapid expansion and commercialization of the Internet. Then-CEO Bill Gates saw this change coming and sent out an internal memo calling this phenomenon “The Internet Tidal Wave.” Now, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella believes that artificial intelligence might be on the same track, and the company is there to take the challenge head-on.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was asked if AI was as big as the tidal wave of the Internet. This is, of course, in reference to Bill Gates’ internal memo in which he describes how the Internet will be a core component of Microsoft, but will change rules and provide incredible opportunities and challenges for the company. In response, Nadella said, “it does feel like that to me,” despite explaining that the industry is remarkably good at overhyping things.


Of course, Microsoft has been on this path for quite some time, announcing an OpenAI investment of $1 billion in 2019. Since then, the Redmond-based company has risen despite tough conditions in the marketplace, partially thanks to artificial intelligence. This year, Microsoft reported its strongest quarter ever in 48 years with “record figures in sales and profits” as the company works to integrate artificial intelligence into its suite of products and services.

This realistically should not come as too much of a surprise, as Microsoft’s main competitor Google is making similar moves with AI. However, as Nadella mentions in his interview, innovation is one of the best things to come from this back-and-forth game and is “a fantastic thing for users and the industry.” Therefore, whether AI is a tidal wave can still be debated, but so long as companies are treating it as such, then advancements and innovations will continue abound.