Here's how Amazon, Microsoft, and Google stack up in the race for the best cloud where developers can build software with artificial intelligence

The cloud-computing boom over the past 15 years dramatically lowered the barrier to accessing the virtually unlimited computing power of Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. But rather than simply renting out computing power for developers to run their own code, these cloud giants also sell pre-built tools for developers to integrate into their own apps or platforms. Artificial intelligence has become the largest category of these tools. Algorithms once reserved for deep-learning experts are now available to anyone with an internet connection and a credit card. Jerry Chen, a Greylock partner, called AI services the "whales of the cloud" in a report on the sector's landscape, since the billions invested by tech companies and venture capitalists far outpaces other cloud-computing categories.