Does Microsoft know something we don't? Tech giant cools down on AI data center investment as another report claims company pullbacks

Microsoft seems increasingly cautious about its AI spending

News By Wayne Williams published 7 April 2025

(Image credit: Future)

• Bloomberg reports Microsoft won't go ahead with multiple data center projects worldwide
• It's the third report claiming Microsoft's more cautious approach to its data center projects
• There are indications that we're on the verge of seeing a global capacity glut when it comes to data centers

Global stock markets are in turmoil right now as President Donald Trump’s tariffs begin to come into effect - but that’s not the only problem facing the big tech firms.

Microsoft is now the focus of a third Bloomberg report detailing pullbacks on its AI data center plans, raising fresh questions about how committed the American tech giant remains to its current level of investment in AI infrastructure.

While Microsoft maintains it will spend around $80 billion on data centers in this fiscal year, it has acknowledged that growth will slow after that. Future focus will shift from new construction to outfitting existing infrastructure with servers and AI equipment.

Still on track to spend $80 billion

Bloomberg claims Microsoft has exited or paused data center projects in multiple regions.

In the UK, it stepped away from a potential lease near Cambridge that was marketed for hosting advanced Nvidia chips.

In Indonesia, parts of a data center campus an hour outside Jakarta have been put on hold.

In North Dakota, talks dragged on so long with a potential tenant that Microsoft lost exclusivity, and expansion has also slowed in Wisconsin, where the company had already spent $262 million on construction, including nearly $40 million on concrete.

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