"Investing 'very heavily' in capital expenditure and infrastructure is going to be a strategic advantage over time," Mark Zuckerberg said.

Chinese startup DeepSeek claims to offer competitive AI models at lower costs, raising doubts about U.S. tech giants' investments in AI. Microsoft and Meta defend their significant spending, highlighting its importance for long-term strategic advantage amidst increasing demand for AI solutions.

(Reuters) -Investors punished Microsoft with a 6% share drop on Thursday as hefty AI bets failed to drive a big increase in its cloud revenue, while Meta rose 4% after CEO Mark Zuckerberg assured Wall Street about growth with promises of a "really big year".

Microsoft has tested Wall Street's patience by plunking down huge amounts of cash in pursuit of profits from AI that have yet to satisfy investors.

Microsoft reported slower-than-expected growth in its crucial Azure cloud business on Wednesday despite beating estimates for overall quarterly revenue and increasing use of its cloud services for artificial intelligence.