Wall Street is now demanding evidence of product uptake and pathways to profitability—and Microsoft is stumbling. The company’s latest earnings report led to a large drop in share prices, as investors and analysts raised concerns about its massive spending on AI infrastructure without the kinds of tangible returns that a really valuable product should demonstrate.
Steven Weber is professor at the Graduate School, UC Berkeley School of Information. He has published numerous books, including “The Success of Open Source” and, most recently, “Bloc by Bloc: How to Build a Global Enterprise for the New Regional Order.” A partner at Breakwater Strategy and an academic affiliate at Analysis Group, he has worked with and received research funding from a number of technology firms, including Google and Microsoft.

