Microsoft (MSFT.US) shares advanced close to 4% on Wednesday, trading at $408.45. The move follows the company's announcement on April 14th of a comprehensive price increase for its Surface Laptop and Surface Pro models on its U.S. website. The starting price for flagship models, the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7, has been raised from $999 to $1,499, marking a substantial 50% increase. This price adjustment affects the entire Surface product lineup and is effective immediately, with other retailers expected to follow suit.
In a related development, Microsoft has agreed to lease capacity at a data center in Norway. The project was initially planned for use by OpenAI. Cloud infrastructure provider Nscale stated that Microsoft will lease 30,000 NVIDIA Vera Rubin chips from its campus located within the Arctic Circle in Narvik, Norway. This agreement represents a further expansion of Microsoft's commitment to the site, following a previous investment pledge of $6.2 billion.
Additionally, reports indicate that Microsoft plans to acquire approximately 3,200 acres of land in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for data center expansion. The acquisition involves a 200-acre plot in the Bison Business Park and a 3,000-acre parcel southeast of the city. The expansion is projected to generate thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of full-time positions. Microsoft's collaboration with a local college for its data center academy has already trained over a thousand students.
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