Google, whose parent company is Alphabet (GOOGL), is launching Gemini Enterprise, a new AI-powered productivity service meant to rival Microsoft. The platform is designed to compete with Microsoft’s 365 Copilot and will enable customers to use Google’s Gemini to analyze corporate data and access AI agents in one place. Despite the new launch, however, GOOGL shares are down 1.3% on Thursday and nearly 2% in the past week.
“Google Cloud is uniquely positioned because we offer all the layers of technology that people need in order to use enterprise AI at scale,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said. “Starting at the foundation, we offer infrastructure, both GPUs, as well as our own [tensor processing units], and Gemini is optimized on this stack to give you great performance, great quality, [and] low latency.”
Alphabet Stock Slumps This Week After Latest AI Moves
Last week, Alphabet announced a $4B funding venture for AI data centers in Arkansas, sparking an initial dip in GOOGL stock. That dip has continued into the new week, with investors seemingly concerned over the tech giant’s recent AI focus. Furthermore, Microsoft’s Azure is already a big player in the AI space that Google is trying to take over, so the heightened competition could mean a bumpy road for Alphabet shares moving ahead.
Fortunately, Wall Street analysts are still giving positive ratings to GOOGL shares, forecasting gains ahead due to the AI efforts. Saira Malik, Chief Investment Officer at Nuveen, stated in a recent CNBC program that Alphabet Inc. remains one of the leaders in the AI space. “Looking at Alphabet, people are worried about what the impact of OpenAI will be on Google’s advertising business and genesis. I think the impact is not going to be as great as people think, and you have the upside from Waymo and their YouTube business.”
Also Read: Alphabet: How Search, Cloud Business May Boom GOOGL Stock
Outside of Nuveen, several other analysts have also issued bullish research reports about Alphabet (GOOGL). Pivotal Research lifted its price target on Alphabet from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report last month. Jefferies also raised the firm’s price target on Alphabet (GOOGL) to $285 from $230 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Out of 73 analysts surveyed by CNN, 82% rate GOOGL as a buy, while 0% are opting to sell.