Asha Sharma, the newly appointed CEO of Microsoft Gaming and Xbox, believes that AI is the cure for declining fertility rates.
Back in August, 2025, during an interview on Lenny’s Podcast, Asha Sharma, then President of Product in Microsoft’s Core AI division and now the newly appointed CEO of Microsoft Gaming and Xbox, shared her vision for AI. Beyond productivity gains and business transformation, she believes AI could play a pivotal role in addressing one of the most pressing demographic challenges today i.e. declining fertility rates.
When asked what keeps her motivated, Sharma highlighted that working with technology as powerful as AI carries responsibility, saying “The thing that I personally think a lot about, now that we know that we’re living in this time working with such powerful technology, is the effects of it and how I can best build a platform where people can make use of it.”
Reflecting on demographic trends, Sharma said, “I think about like will my son have classmates in the future. It’s because the fertility rates are declining, right?” She noted that “the average birth rate in the 90s when we were growing up was like three and now it’s 2.3 and in 2050 it’s estimated to be below replacement.”
Rather than viewing AI as a disruptive force that replaces people, Sharma sees it as a tool that could help reverse these trends. She referenced a hospital in London “able to improve pregnancy rates by using AI to match eggs and sperms and they’re cutting costs at the same time.” Advances like these, she argued, show how AI can expand access to fertility treatments and improve outcomes.
Sharma is now stepping into the role of CEO of Microsoft Gaming, succeeding Phil Spencer. In her new position, she will oversee the company’s Xbox and gaming business, with a renewed commitment to focus on console players. Spencer, who had led the Xbox division since 2014 and became CEO of Microsoft Gaming in 2022, is retiring.
