Research and Development Expenses of Microsoft Corporation 2002-2018
The following table shows the Research & Development expenses of Microsoft Corporation from 2002 to 2018 in Billion US Dollars
| Year | R&D Expenses (Bn $) |
| 2018 | $14.7 Bn |
| 2017 | $13 Bn |
| 2016 | $12 Bn |
| 2015 | $12 Bn |
| 2014 | $11.4 Bn |
| 2013 | $10.4 Bn |
| 2012 | $9.8 Bn |
| 2011 | $9 Bn |
| 2010 | $8.7 Bn |
| 2009 | $9 Bn |
| 2008 | $8.1 Bn |
| 2007 | $7.1 Bn |
| 2006 | $6.5 Bn |
| 2005 | $6 Bn |
| 2004 | $7.7 Bn |
| 2003 | $6.6 Bn |
| 2002 | $6.3 Bn |
Microsoft’s 2018 (1st 3 quarters ended March 31) R&D Expenditure: 10.8 Billion USD.
The Technology industry has grown highly competitive and brands are aggressively investing in new technologies for faster growth and higher revenue. Technology giants like Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon are especially focusing on bringing new technologies to market that are meant to drive the productivity of their consumers higher. Microsoft Research has made significant advances in the area of AI which it has infused in several of its products including Bing, Cortana, Holo Lens, Dynamics and Linked In to provide its customers with a better experience.
In the technology industry, Research and development is a primary driver of growth and so most technology brands take it very seriously and spend billions on it. Apart from AI, Microsoft is investing in Research and Development in Cloud computing and gaming. In 2017, Microsoft has invested 13 Billion USD in research and development which is one billion higher than the previous two years. In both 2016 and 2015, Microsoft had invested 12 Billion USD each in R&D. A big reason that Technology brands are continuously raising the bar in terms of investment in R&D is because it is necessary to continually improve the customer experience. In the recent years, Microsoft brought some great technologies that are being used by major industry players like Boeing to improve efficiency and customer experience.
2018 : During the first three quarters of the fiscal year 2018 ending March 31, Microsoft had spent 10.8 Billion (10, 793 Millions) on Research and development and this was around 1.3 billions higher than what it spent on R&D in the same period last year. In the first quarter alone the brand spent 3.7 Billion USD on R&D.
Sources:
Annual Reports of Microsoft 2004-2018