Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft remained steadfast in their commitment to AI investment as cloud revenue continued to rise across the board in the third quarter.

“Nearly every business we talk to wants to leverage technology to offer better services, scale more quickly, and fuel growth without increasing their footprint,” IBM Chief Executive Arvind Krishna said Wednesday during IBM’s Q3 earnings call. “This has been driving demand for technologies that boost productivity and competitiveness, like hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence.”

FIs tap AI

Google is making sizeable investments in AI and expects Google Cloud use to increase on the backs of AI tools, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call Tuesday. Financial institutions are taking note.

NatWest is using Amazon Web Services’ generative AI capabilities through Amazon Bedrock to improve client financial well-being, according to Amazon’s Q3 earnings supplement released Thursday.

PayPal and Deutsche Bank are using Google’s Duet AI, which is helping the financial institutions boost developer productivity, Pichai said.

Cloud revenue ticks up

Tech providers reported the following cloud revenue in Q3:

• Amazon Web Services’ cloud revenue increased 12% YoY to $23.1 billion;
• Google’s cloud revenue increased 18.5% YoY to $8.4 billion;
• IBM’s software revenue, which includes hybrid cloud and AI values, grew 6% YoY to $6.3 billion; and
• Microsoft’s cloud revenue increased 24% YoY to $31.8 billion.

Generative AI research

The tech providers are also looking to identify generative AI use cases within their software stacks.

IBM is using generative AI within its RedHat OpenShift technology, which allows clients to operate in a hybrid environment, Krishna said. “To bring our AI capabilities to life, we have more than 20,000 data and AI consultants, including a center of excellence for generative AI,” he said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft plans to expand its generative AI digital assistant, Copilot, to help business clients add efficiency to their operations, Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said.

Transactions

The tech giants also added and expanded relationships during the quarter:

• Microsoft’s Security Copilot, a generative AI-driven cybersecurity tool, has been deployed at Fidelity Information Services and Bridgewater Associates, Nadella said.
• Microsoft closed the deal to buy gaming company Activision Blizzard on Oct. 13 for $69 billion after facing anti-trust scrutiny from regulators for nearly a year.
• Professional services firm Genpact expanded its relationship with Amazon Web Services for its financial crime risk operations using generative AI and large language models, according to Amazon’s earnings release.

FUTURE LOOK

Google aims to roll out more AI-driven features — starting with Google search — and also to implement AI in all its offerings, Google’s Pichai said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft expects its cloud business to continue to grow in the financial services sector as there are a lot of operations “that still need to move to the cloud,” Nadella said.

Shares of Amazon [NYSE: AMZN] were up 8.4% from market open to $129.79 at noon ET today. Amazon has a market capitalization of $1.4 trillion.