Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) is increasingly a consumer of energy, and with good reason. Its advances in data center operations and artificial intelligence (AI) make it a massive power sink. But Microsoft is also working on generating that power as well, recently teaming up with Aalo Atomics on generative AI for getting permits to build new nuclear energy systems. The move gave Microsoft stock a bit of a loss, oddly, sending shares down fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The new connection brings together Aalo’s line of nuclear manufacturing and deployment systems and connects them with Microsoft’s tool known as “Generative AI for Energy Permitting Solution Accelerator,” as well as a line of AI agents. The resulting combination allows those who would build nuclear energy systems to better navigate the maze of regulatory permitting systems that would otherwise keep such systems out of the picture. With permits still regarded as one of the biggest hurdles involved in building such infrastructure, tools to navigate it should be in demand.
Aalo Atomics’ CTO, Yasir Arafat, noted, “So far, we have tackled three of the most impactful challenges in the nuclear industry—using AI to simplify, accelerate, and ultimately transform how complex energy systems are licensed, built and operated at scale. We look forward to continuing this collaboration with Microsoft.”
Opening the Floodgates
Meanwhile, Microsoft may have figured out just how much quality independent game releases mean to its bottom line, as it is working to make it easier to get such games up for sale. It recently released the Xbox Game Publishing Guide, a move that looks to attract indie publishers who would have ordinarily focused on PC gaming.
Microsoft plans to update the guide routinely, making sure the information is as accurate and timely as possible. Considering the headaches some developers have gone through in trying to bring their work to Xbox, it is not surprising that some insight into the process would prove helpful. And with a new console generation afoot, populating it with high-quality independent releases could prove just as helpful for Microsoft’s bottom line.
Is Microsoft a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 35 Buys assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 22.71% rally in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $632.07 per share implies 24.34% upside potential.
