Amazon said on Thursday that it would spend $200 billion this year on data centers, satellites and other big-ticket items as it invests heavily in the race for artificial intelligence. The eye-popping dollar figure, which topped Wall Street’s predictions by $50 billion, was the latest in a series of announcements by big technology companies that they plan to dial up their A.I. investments this year. Despite investors’ worries that the hundreds of billions those giants are spending on A.I. data centers could take years to pay off, the companies show little sign of slowing down. This week, Google’s parent, Alphabet, said it would spend as much as $185 billion this year, and Meta said last week that its capital expenses, in large part to support A.I., could reach $135 billion.

Full report : Amazon’s $200 Billion Spending Plan Raises Stakes in A.I. Race.