By Aditya Soni and Deborah Mary Sophia (Reuters) -Days after Chinese upstart DeepSeek revealed a breakthrough in cheap AI computing that shook the U.S. technology industry, the chief executives of Microsoft and Meta defended massive spending that they said was key to staying competitive in the new field.

The tech giants vow to barrel ahead despite the jolt from China’s DeepSeek.

Meta beat on key fourth quarter numbers but forecasts for the current first quarter disappointed. Founder-CEO Mark Zuckerberg will take questions on a call shortly.

It reported sales of $48.4 billion and earnings of $8.02 per share, compared to the consensus estimates of $47.0 billion and $6.77, respectively.

Meta AI will curate responses based on the information you've supplied across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, but you can delete that data.

Meta Platforms reported fourth-quarter earnings that topped analysts' estimates as revenue grew more than 20% year-over-year.

Alibaba says the latest version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model can take on fellow Chinese firm DeepSeek's V3 as well as the top models from U.S. rivals OpenAI and Meta.

As it rolls out today, Meta AI will deliver answers based on information you've shared with it for a more personalized experience. The company also highlighted an update rolling out for the AI's "memory boost" on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. Meta AI recently picked up a "voice" and the ability to "see" your photos for editing and recipes.

On the other hand, software companies and big tech firms like Microsoft, Meta, and Google could benefit. Lower AI costs could make the technology more accessible to smaller businesses, boosting adoption. For big tech companies, this could mean lower ...

S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are rising, the Dow is Falling in premarket trading Thursday as the stock market digests Big Tech earnings and Fed comments on interest rates.