Editing Microsoft Corporation (section)

=== Market Positioning and Competitive Edge   ===
As 2023 drew to a close, Microsoft’s competitive advantages became increasingly evident. Azure captured 20% of the cloud market share<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.channele2e.com/news/ai-drives-investment-cloud-market-share-2024-for-amazon-aws-microsoft-azure-google-cloud |quote=Microsoft Azure held 20% of the cloud market share in Q2 2024. }}</ref>, contributing significantly to its 22% revenue growth in 2024. The OpenAI investment accelerated AI breakthroughs, embedding advanced models like GPT-4 into its ecosystem and driving 13 percentage points of Azure’s growth<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-beats-quarterly-revenue-estimates-2025-01-29/ |quote=AI contributed 13 percentage points of Azure's growth in Microsoft's fiscal second quarter of 2025. }}</ref>.  

However, Google Cloud outpaced Microsoft in sales growth during Q4 2023<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/2024/aws-vs-microsoft-vs-google-cloud-earnings-q4-2023-face-off |quote=Google Cloud grew sales faster than its competitors in Q4 2023, while Microsoft closed its cloud market share gap with AWS. }}</ref>, highlighting the intense competition in the cloud sector. Regulatory scrutiny remained a concern, with U.S., U.K., and EU antitrust regulators examining Microsoft’s OpenAI investment<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-ditches-openai-board-observer-seat-amid-regulatory-scrutiny-2024-07-10/ |quote=Microsoft removed its observer seat on OpenAI’s board to avoid antitrust scrutiny. }}</ref>.