If you made a list of the most discussed topics over the past couple of years, artificial intelligence (AI) would surely be near the top. Since the popularity of AI tools like ChatGPT has brought more attention to the technology, many tech companies have seen their valuations skyrocket.<\/p>\n
It’s been a fun ride so far for plenty of investors, but the elephant in the room is growing. A lot of investors are wondering the same thing: Is AI a bubble<\/a>? Only time will tell, but I think the technology will sustain, while many of the pure-play AI companies<\/a> will not.<\/p>\n Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n For those looking for AI exposure with minimal risk, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)<\/a> is a great option.<\/p>\n Image source: Microsoft.<\/p>\n Microsoft’s role in the AI ecosystem<\/p>\n Microsoft’s main role in the AI ecosystem deals with its cloud computing platform<\/a>, Azure. It’s the second-largest cloud platform in the world behind Amazon Web Services (AWS), so it’s home to many of the companies developing or relying on AI.<\/p>\n Training, developing, and scaling AI models as they are today would be impossible without major cloud platforms like Azure and AWS<\/a>. They provide the computing power, storage, and networking tools needed to make it happen.<\/p>\n That dependence is largely why Azure revenue has been growing impressively. In the first quarter of Microsoft’s fiscal year 2026 (ended Sept. 30, 2025), Azure and other cloud services revenue increased 40% year over year.<\/p>\n A lot to gain; little to lose<\/p>\n Countless companies globally rely on Microsoft’s software to run their daily operations; it is its bread and butter. And it’s doubtful the company will lose its grip on the industry, especially as it continues to strengthen the appeal of its tools by adding — and selling — AI capabilities.<\/p>\n While some companies’ fates rest on AI growth and becoming the next big thing, Microsoft’s business only stands to gain from AI developments. There’s a lot of upside if it goes well, but if it doesn’t, Microsoft’s business will remain strong. The company is involved in almost every tech industry you can imagine.<\/p>\n It’ll still be the go-to for enterprise software; it’ll still power many businesses with Windows; it’ll still have Xbox; it’ll still have hardware; and it’ll still have LinkedIn. It’s as diversified a tech company as you’ll find.<\/p>\n The biggest issue facing Microsoft is whether its massive spending<\/a> translates into tangible profits. There’s a risk it overspends, but when you have the money Microsoft does, it’s worth it to ensure you’re not left behind in the AI arms race. There are much worse things on which a business can overspend.<\/p>\n Should you buy stock in Microsoft right now?<\/p>\n Before you buy stock in Microsoft, consider this:<\/p>\n The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks<\/a> for investors to buy now\u2026 and Microsoft wasn\u2019t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.<\/p>\n Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you\u2019d have $450,256!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you\u2019d have $1,171,666!*<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s worth noting Stock Advisor\u2019s total average return is 942% \u2014 a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.<\/p>\n See the 10 stocks \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n *Stock Advisor returns as of February 1, 2026. <\/p>\n Stefon Walters<\/a> has positions in Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key Points Microsoft Azure is key to training and developing AI models. Microsoft is strengthening and further monetizing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[365,363,364,111,139,69,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-262883","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1769974210_457_.jpeg\"\/)
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