Microsoft and Vodafone Join Forces in $1.5B AI Deal

On Tuesday, Vodafone and Microsoft announced that they agreed to a 10-year strategic partnership, including a $1.5 billion investment from Vodafone, to collaborate on generative AI, as well as cloud services and IoT in the European and African markets, according to statements from the companies.

The companies will collaborate on five areas: generative AI, IoT, digital acceleration in Africa, enterprise growth, and cloud transformation.

As part of the agreement, Microsoft will use Vodafone’s connectivity services and invest in their IoT platform, and Vodafone will leverage Microsoft’s AI and cloud technologies by integrating them into their business.

"This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organization and every industry around the world," said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft. "We are delighted that together with Vodafone we will apply the latest cloud and AI technology to enhance the customer experience of hundreds of millions of people and businesses across Africa and Europe, build new products and services, and accelerate the company’s transition to the cloud."

Vodafone plans to incorporate Microsoft’s AI into customer-facing and customer service functions, as well as internal business operations. Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform will also replace some of Vodafone’s physical data centers.

Read more about this story at Reuters.com.