Computer pioneer Microsoft looks for AI boost as it turns 50

Microsoft has been at the heart of computing for half a century, becoming a tech stalwart almost taken for granted as lifestyles embraced the internet.

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As the company, founded with a vision of putting computers in every home and office, celebrates its 50th anniversary on April 4, it is looking to boost its fortunes by being a leader in the fast-developing field of artificial intelligence (AI).

"From a storytelling standpoint, they've been a boring company and a boring stock," eMarketer analyst Jeremy Goldman said of the Richmond, Washington-based behemoth.

"It's funny because they have a US$2.9 trillion (S$3.9 trillion) market cap, and that is huge," he continued, referring to Microsoft's value based on its share price.

The only company with a higher market capitalization is iPhone maker Apple.

Cloud computing is fueling Microsoft's revenue with the help of its ubiquitous Office software, now hosted online and no longer released in boxes of floppy disks or CDs.

"It's not a very sexy infrastructure, but it's a very valuable one," Mr. Goldman said of Microsoft's data centers and software at the foundation of its cloud-computing platform.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google are Microsoft's cloud-computing rivals.