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.

Microsoft has earmarked $80 billion for AI in its current fiscal year, while Meta has pledged as much as $65 billion

The tech giants on Wednesday talked up their AI strategies and said they are sticking with ambitious investments in the technology despite the investor panic this week over the ri

Key Takeaways Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday’s that the rapid rise of competitors from China has only strengthened the tech giant’s commitment to its AI ambitions. The CEO said it’s too early to know how growing competition from China could impact its future investments.