Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told a crowd at a business luncheon in Chicago that he's willing to spend up to $11 billion on search over the next five years, Silicon Alley Insider reports.
"Our shareholders, I told them we were willing to spend 5 to 10 percent of operating income for up to five years in this business, and we feel like we can get an economic return," he said, according to Reuters.
"We invested in Xbox for years and now it generates nice economic returns for us," he added.
Ballmer's comments come just weeks after Microsoft launched Bing, its latest attempt to make inroads in search against Google and Yahoo.
