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Microsoft (MSFT) Invests in AI for Health to Fight COVID-19
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Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) recently announced that it is dedicating $20 million to its AI for Health initiative in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Launched on Jan 29, the AI for Health initiative was started to empower medical workers and researchers with AI as well as data science capabilities to improve healthcare services around the world.
The initiative will now aid COVID-19 efforts in five key areas, which include data and insights, treatment and diagnostics, resource allocation, spreading accurate information as well as scientific research.
This investment is likely to aid government authorities and researchers in gaining a deeper understanding of the pandemic and accelerate development of a cure or a potential vaccine.
The initiative is expected to generate goodwill around Microsoft’s brand and instill investors’ optimism. Notably, the stock has returned 4.9% year to date compared with the industry’s growth of 0.1%.
Microsoft’s investment in AI for health is a part of its’ broader focus on innovating the healthcare system by making use of emerging technologies to fight the outbreak.
Notably, Microsoft collaborated with various nonprofit organizations and private companies to roll out the Protecting People Everywhere initiative via the HealthEquip app. The app is an attempt to combat the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) by matching PPE donors with potential recipients.
Moreover, the company expanded its partnership with Adaptive Biotechnologies to aid public health officials as well as researchers to access and track data pertaining to COVID-19 patient immune responses. The open source dataset will be deployed on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, Azure.
Microsoft also rolled out the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19), which contains scientific articles about the coronavirus and aims to improve the efficiency of coronavirus related research.
Additionally, the company launched an Azure powered healthcare bot service for the CDC foundation and other healthcare organizations. The bot will aid them in screening potential COVID-19 patients and recommend the best possible course of action.
Other efforts in healthcare domain include collaboration with Nuance Communications to develop conversational AI and ambient intelligence technologies to transform doctor-patient interaction. Microsoft has also partnered with Novartis to speed up discovery and development of pharmaceutical drugs by using data analytics and AI.
Further, the tech giant has inked a deal with Adobe and Change Healthcare to improve patient experiences by leveraging its cloud and application capabilities.
Thus, the company’s robust healthcare capabilities has well positioned it to benefit from the ongoing digital overhaul taking place in the healthcare industry, triggered by the coronavirus crisis.
Others Companies Join the Fray
This latest investment by Microsoft comes at a time when all major tech companies are attempting to revolutionize the healthcare system by leveraging their AI, machine learning (ML) and data analytics capabilities.
Notably, Amazon’s (AMZN - Free Report) cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), recently rolled out a massive COVID-19 related dataset that contains curated information on the spread and characteristics of the virus to aid researchers in their fight against the pandemic. It also invested $20 million in AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative to speed up the development of faster COVID-19 testing.
Recently, Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) DeepMind division released a model that predicts the coronavirus protein structure to aid researchers in developing potential treatments. Moreover, the company’s healthcare division – Verily – launched a COVID-19 screening and testing website under Project Baseline.
Further, Intel (INTC - Free Report) invested $50 million in a pandemic response technology initiative, which aims to advance diagnosis, treatment and vaccine development by using AI, HPC computing and edge-to-cloud service delivery.
Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce ""the world's first trillionaires,"" but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
Image: Bigstock
Microsoft (MSFT) Invests in AI for Health to Fight COVID-19
Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) recently announced that it is dedicating $20 million to its AI for Health initiative in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Launched on Jan 29, the AI for Health initiative was started to empower medical workers and researchers with AI as well as data science capabilities to improve healthcare services around the world.
The initiative will now aid COVID-19 efforts in five key areas, which include data and insights, treatment and diagnostics, resource allocation, spreading accurate information as well as scientific research.
This investment is likely to aid government authorities and researchers in gaining a deeper understanding of the pandemic and accelerate development of a cure or a potential vaccine.
The initiative is expected to generate goodwill around Microsoft’s brand and instill investors’ optimism. Notably, the stock has returned 4.9% year to date compared with the industry’s growth of 0.1%.
Microsoft Corporation Price and Consensus
Microsoft Corporation price-consensus-chart | Microsoft Corporation Quote
Healthcare Initiatives Hold Promise
Microsoft’s investment in AI for health is a part of its’ broader focus on innovating the healthcare system by making use of emerging technologies to fight the outbreak.
Notably, Microsoft collaborated with various nonprofit organizations and private companies to roll out the Protecting People Everywhere initiative via the HealthEquip app. The app is an attempt to combat the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) by matching PPE donors with potential recipients.
Moreover, the company expanded its partnership with Adaptive Biotechnologies to aid public health officials as well as researchers to access and track data pertaining to COVID-19 patient immune responses. The open source dataset will be deployed on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, Azure.
Microsoft also rolled out the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19), which contains scientific articles about the coronavirus and aims to improve the efficiency of coronavirus related research.
Additionally, the company launched an Azure powered healthcare bot service for the CDC foundation and other healthcare organizations. The bot will aid them in screening potential COVID-19 patients and recommend the best possible course of action.
Other efforts in healthcare domain include collaboration with Nuance Communications to develop conversational AI and ambient intelligence technologies to transform doctor-patient interaction. Microsoft has also partnered with Novartis to speed up discovery and development of pharmaceutical drugs by using data analytics and AI.
Further, the tech giant has inked a deal with Adobe and Change Healthcare to improve patient experiences by leveraging its cloud and application capabilities.
Thus, the company’s robust healthcare capabilities has well positioned it to benefit from the ongoing digital overhaul taking place in the healthcare industry, triggered by the coronavirus crisis.
Others Companies Join the Fray
This latest investment by Microsoft comes at a time when all major tech companies are attempting to revolutionize the healthcare system by leveraging their AI, machine learning (ML) and data analytics capabilities.
Notably, Amazon’s (AMZN - Free Report) cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), recently rolled out a massive COVID-19 related dataset that contains curated information on the spread and characteristics of the virus to aid researchers in their fight against the pandemic. It also invested $20 million in AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative to speed up the development of faster COVID-19 testing.
Recently, Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) DeepMind division released a model that predicts the coronavirus protein structure to aid researchers in developing potential treatments. Moreover, the company’s healthcare division – Verily – launched a COVID-19 screening and testing website under Project Baseline.
Further, Intel (INTC - Free Report) invested $50 million in a pandemic response technology initiative, which aims to advance diagnosis, treatment and vaccine development by using AI, HPC computing and edge-to-cloud service delivery.
Zacks Rank
Microsoft currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce ""the world's first trillionaires,"" but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
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