Microsoft hosts developer conference as focus grows on AI profits

Microsoft hosts its annual software developer conference in Seattle on Monday, drawing thousands of coders looking to turn the past years of investments into artificial intelligence into profitable products and services for consumers and businesses.

The Redmond, Washington-based software giant, which is an investor and deep strategic partner with ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and has already spent $64 billion this year, much of it on data centres needed for AI-based services such as Copilot used in its popular Microsoft 365 applications.

But there are…