Shares Fall as Foundry Platform Adoption Slows
Microsoft’s stock fell more than 2% on Wednesday after a report revealed the company reduced sales quotas for its artificial intelligence software products. The Information, citing two Azure cloud sales employees, said the adjustment followed widespread underperformance across teams during the last fiscal year.
The shortfall centered on Foundry, Microsoft’s enterprise platform within Azure that allows companies to build and manage autonomous AI agents. These agents are designed to handle multi-step tasks on behalf of organizations, but demand has not accelerated at the pace expected.
Microsoft declined to comment on the report.
AI Tools Expand, but Business Adoption Lags
The broader AI boom has generated new opportunities for companies to automate workflows and improve efficiency. Major players including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Salesforce, and Amazon all offer platforms for creating and deploying AI assistants.
Despite the rapid growth in model development and infrastructure spending, traditional enterprises have been slower to adopt agent-based systems. The Information highlighted a 2024 struggle at private equity firm Carlyle, where AI tools reportedly failed to reliably integrate external data sources.
Quota Reset After Widespread Missed Targets
Inside Microsoft, the disconnect between enthusiasm for AI and real-world enterprise usage became clear as sales teams fell short of aggressive targets. Fewer than 20% of salespeople within one U.S. Azure unit reached Foundry’s 50% growth requirement, according to The Information.
Another unit had been assigned a mandate to double Foundry sales. After most representatives missed that goal, Microsoft reset the quota to a 50% target instead. While quota refinements are common across the tech industry, insiders noted such midyear adjustments are unusual for Microsoft.
Industry Watches for Signals on AI Monetization
The quota reduction highlights a challenge facing the entire AI ecosystem: converting technical excitement into predictable recurring revenue from mainstream businesses. Although companies continue to invest heavily in large models and AI infrastructure, enterprise buyers remain cautious about deploying autonomous agents at scale.
For Microsoft, accelerating adoption of Foundry and similar products remains central to its cloud strategy, particularly as competitors push deeper into enterprise AI services.
