Microsoft pumps up R&D spend

NEWS Microsoft expects to increase its spend on research and development to $3.8bn next year. In the company's annual 10-K filing, Bill Gates, CEO at Microsoft, told shareholders R&D spend would soar by 36 per cent from its current total of $2.8bn. According to the documents, the company employees 12,090 of its 31,396 employees in R&D. However, he said spend did not guarantee success as market competition increases and "regulatory pressures are unlikely to ease."