When IBM bought/merged with Red Hat, it seemed like a big deal. For that matter, IBM was a big reason why Linux became a mainstream technology. IBM doesn't move like this any more, but then we haven't seen Microsoft's investment in OpenAI actually pay any dividends yet, either.

Still is, who do you think puts money on GCC, for example?

Nadella is extremely effective and aggressive in his moves. He always impresses me in that regard.

While Ballmer built a solid cash foundation - he would never have done a move like Linkedin or Github acquisition. And I would not be surprised if Github acquisition was a part of the plan about AI.