UKRAINE – 2022/01/07: In this photo illustration a Microsoft Azure logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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LONDON — Microsoft on Tuesday was accused of unfairly overcharging customers of rival cloud companies in a lawsuit claiming damages of more than £1 billion ($1.27 billion).
The lawsuit alleges customers using Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform or Alibaba Cloud — all key competitors to Microsoft’s Azure cloud — are forced to pay more to license the tech giant’s cloud-based Windows Server software on rivals’ infrastructure.
Microsoft offers a cheaper price to firms running Windows Server on Azure than on direct competitors like AWS, Google’s cloud or Alibaba Cloud. The lawsuit argues firms running the widely-used server software are essentially being overcharged to use alternative cloud computing solutions.
It adds Microsoft leverages its dominant market position in cloud-based server operating systems by extracting higher prices and inducing customers into moving to Azure. Claimant Maria Luisa Stasi, a competition lawyer, is seeking more than £1 billion in compensation for firms affected.
Microsoft was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
“Put simply, Microsoft is punishing UK businesses and organisations for using Google, Amazon and Alibaba for cloud computing by forcing them to pay more money for Windows Server,” Stasi, who is head of law and policy for digital rights advocacy group Article19, said in a statement shared with CNBC.
“By doing so, Microsoft is trying to force customers into using its cloud computing service Azure and restricting competition in the sector.”
She added the lawsuit “aims to challenge Microsoft’s anti-competitive behavior, push them to reveal exactly how much businesses in the UK have been illegally penalized, and return the money to organizations that have been unfairly overcharged.”
Thousands of British businesses and organizations are represented in the lawsuit, which is an “opt-out” collective action. That means that any company potentially affected is automatically counted and can receive a payout if Microsoft loses.
Stasi represents the customers of Amazon, Google and Alibaba but doesn’t represent any of these firms, her spokesperson told CNBC.
The CMA declined to comment on the specific timing of its provisional decision. However, it’s previously set a deadline of November to December 2024.
Earlier this year, Microsoft struck a 20 million euro ($21 million) settlement with cloud trade body CISPE and its members ending an EU antitrust complaint accusing the tech giant of unfair software licensing practices at its cloud division.
The deal saw Microsoft agree to charge firms the same price for running its software on smaller cloud companies’ systems as it does on its own Azure platform.
But in September, Google filed a fresh antitrust complaint against Google with the European Commission, the executive body of the EU.
The suit alleged that Microsoft’s software licensing terms effectively lock businesses into its Azure platform and make it harder to switch — and thus exerting control over the cloud market.
Solange Viegas Dos Reis, chief legal officer of French cloud computing firm OVHCloud, told CNBC some cloud hyperscalers are essentially “selling together two products that should be totally separated” — widely-used software and cloud infrastructure.
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There’s also an issue of hyperscalers offering more functionality of their software when it’s running on their own cloud services than on third-party cloud services, Dos Reis said without singling out any particular vendor.
From 2017 to 2022, European cloud firms’ market share halved from 27% to 13%, lagging international rivals as the entire European cloud market grew fivefold to 10.4 billion euros ($11 billion), according to data from Synergy Research Group.
The issue of software licensing in cloud is one that’s not been assessed previously, Dos Reis told CNBC in an interview last week, adding OVH has “a lot of hope” with the CMA’s cloud competition case.
OVHCloud agreed its own settlement with Microsoft in July, which saw it drop its own EU antitrust complaint against the U.S. tech giant.
After four previous scrubs or delays in a row since August 7th SpaceX launches Amazon KF-02 Kuipeer Satellites after the 5th attempt August 11th 2025 at 8:35 AM SLC-40 Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, Florida USA.
Scott Schilke| SipaUSA |AP
Amazon shipped another batch of internet-beaming satellites into orbit on Monday atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, after four previous launch attempts were interrupted by weather issues.
Monday’s launch is the fourth Kuiper mission, and Amazon now has 102 satellites in orbit.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:35 a.m. ET. Roughly an hour after launch, SpaceX confirmed all 24 of Amazon’s Kuiper satellites were successfully deployed.
The mission was originally scheduled for last Thursday, but SpaceX was forced to scrub the launch, along with three more attempts over the past few days due to rainfall.
For the second time, Amazon turned to Elon Musk‘s SpaceX, its chief competitor in the low-earth orbit satellite market, for help building out its constellation.
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SpaceX’s Starlink is currently the dominant provider of low-earth orbit satellite internet, with a constellation of roughly 8,000 satellites and about 5 million customers worldwide.
Amazon is racing to get more of its Kuiper satellites into space to meet a deadline set by the Federal Communications Commission.
The FCC requires that Amazon have about 1,600 satellites in orbit by the end of July 2026, with the full 3,236-satellite constellation launched by July 2029.
Amazon has booked up to 83 launches, including three rides with SpaceX.
While the company is still in the early stages of building out its constellation, Amazon has already inked deals with governments as it hopes to begin commercial service later this year.
“Trump’s assault has no modern precedent,” Moritz wrote, calling the attack a “vindictive political sideshow.”
Moritz, who spent decades at Sequoia Capital and has known Tan for nearly four decades, highlighted the CEO’s previous turnaround of Cadence Design Systems. Moritz said there is “no one better equipped to transform Intel’s fortunes.”
“Now the Intel board must decide whether to march to the beat of so many other corporate leaders and capitulate to the president’s artless bullying or to set an example for other companies and display some backbone,” he wrote in a piece published in the Financial Times Sunday. “Early signs of defiance are encouraging.”
Tan is set to visit the White House on Monday to assuage concerns about his background and discuss ways that Intel can work with the U.S. government.
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Intel shares were up nearly 5% Monday. The Wall Street Journal was first to report Tan’s White House visit.
In a post to Truth Social last week, Trump called for Tan’s resignation and said the 65-year-old was “highly CONFLICTED.” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. has also raised questions over Tan’s ties to Chinese companies and the potential national security risks.
Tan later addressed the “misinformation” in a letter to employees, saying that he has “always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards.”
Moritz joined Sequoia Capital in 1986 and stepped down in 2023. During his tenure, he made successful early bets on the likes of Google and PayPal.
C3 AI said Friday that it expects to report revenue between $70.2 million and $70.4 million for its fiscal first quarter 2026, though those figures are unaudited, preliminary estimates. The company reported $87.2 million in revenue during the same period a year earlier.
Thomas Siebel, C3 AI’s CEO, said in a statement that sales results during the quarter were “completely unacceptable.” He attributed the performance to the “disruptive effect” of the reorganization, as well as his ongoing health issues.
The company expects to report a GAAP loss from operations for the quarter between $124.7 million and $124.9 million, a much wider loss than a year ago, when C3 AI had a loss of $72.59 million.
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“Unfortunately, dealing with these health issues prevented me from participating in the sales process as actively as I have in the past,” Siebel said in a statement. “With the benefit of hindsight, it is now apparent that my active participation in the sales process may have had a greater impact than I previously thought.”
Siebel announced in July that he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease earlier this year, resulting in “significant visual impairment.” C3 AI’s board and Siebel have kicked off a search for the company’s next chief executive.
C3 AI said its sales and services restructuring is complete, and Siebel said his health has “improved dramatically” except for his vision impairment. He said he is feeling strong and fully engaged, and will work to quickly identify “excellent” CEO candidates.
“I am confident the company is positioned to accelerate going forward,” Siebel said.
The company is scheduled to hold a conference call for first quarter results on Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. ET.