While most of us are focused on the applications and use cases for artificial intelligence (AI), it is easy to forget about the infrastructure involved. Those processes require a lot of power, and tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) is working on not only getting that power to the chips involved, but also on how to cool them sufficiently that they do not melt into what a Dilbert strip once called “…a toxic blob.” Investors were a bit skeptical, however, as evidenced by the fractional decline in Microsoft stock in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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The answer to Microsoft’s overheating chip problem is one-word simple: microfluidics. What does that mean? Interestingly, it means almost exactly what it says it means: very small quantities of fluid. For Microsoft, it means taking those very small quantities of fluid and sending them through channels that have been etched directly into the chips themselves.
That might sound suicidally stupid to anyone who knows the kind of damage that a spilled bottle of water can do around a desktop PC. But, as it turns out, properly regulated and controlled, those small quantities of fluid moving around chips are doing a solid job of pulling away excess heat and keeping the chips running. This is opening up the potential for more powerful chip development and more AI functionality, reports note. Microsoft is also looking into other developments, like the use of “hollow-core fiber” in networking.
Making Indie Easier
We have already seen the kind of investment that Microsoft is putting into indie game development. But as it turns out, it is also working to make indie publishing easier on Xbox as well. While the idea of getting more games on Xbox sounds like a great idea—especially to Microsoft shareholders—it is not always so simple. Thus, Microsoft is working to improve accessibility to its popular console platform.
Microsoft is making the process simpler in several ways, though perhaps, not quite as simple as it once was in a time when games like Curling 2010 could be found therein. Microsoft demands quite a few updates from its indie partners, including “…progress during key milestones.” But it is also engaging by asking about the “creative process” and delivering what one developer called “…encouragement, support and the thumbs up to keep on going.”
Is Microsoft a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 34 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 17.85% rally in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $625.78 per share implies 23.14% upside potential.
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