United States:Google parent Alphabet on Wednesday reported blockbuster earnings, its revenue climbing as it invests massively in cloud computing services enhanced with artificial intelligence.

The tech giant said revenue jumped 18 percent year-on-year in the quarter, and overall annual revenue topped $400 billion for the first time at the company founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998.

But Alphabet said it will nearly double its investments this year in the technology arms race gripping Silicon Valley.

The company expects capital expenditures between $175 billion and $185 billion in 2026, double its 2025 spending, to meet customer demand for AI products.Despite Alphabet relentlessly investing in computing infrastructure for AI, demand outstrips supply, according to chief executive Sundar Pichai.

"We've been supply constrained even as we've been ramping up our capacity," Pichai said on an earnings call.Alphabet shares were down slightly more than one percent in after-market trades.Google's Gemini AI continued to grow quickly, ending the year with 750 million monthly users in an increase of 100 million from the previous quarter.

Source:Ndtv