Palo Alto Networks Shares Rise 3% on Launch of Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI Defense

Microsoft will spend $10 billion through 2030 across four Persian Gulf countries, building out infrastructure and strengthening cyber security, Microsoft President Brad Smith told Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow. Smith said the commitment reflects confidence in the Gulf nations, which he said are leading the world in AI transformation, and includes a digital resilience initiative to strengthen cyber security amid conflict in the region. He confirmed Microsoft remains committed to its earlier pledge to use 200 megawatts of capacity in Abu Dhabi, and said a new set of cloud services will go live in Saudi Arabia in just five weeks. On AI safety, Smith said safety will not advance if the world relies on only one or two companies or a single slice of the AI sector, arguing that safety should be built in at multiple layers, including model companies, software firms like Microsoft, and hyperscalers, and that independent evaluators must be capable, properly chosen, and genuinely independent. He noted Microsoft sits on a joint deployment safety board with OpenAI that must weigh in before the next major model is released, and said Microsoft updated its ethical guidelines last week for what he called the age of AI.