Microsoft and the British telecommunications company Vodafone have partnered in a ten-year deal to incorporate generative artificial intelligence (AI) functionalities with Microsoft Azure OpenAI and Copilot.
The companies announced on January 17 that Vodafone, in collaboration with Microsoft, will allocate $1.5 billion over the next decade towards developing “customer-focused AI services” and cloud infrastructure. In turn, Microsoft will benefit from Vodafone’s fixed and mobile connectivity services.
The generative AI aspect of the agreement utilizes Microsoft’s productive AI tools to revolutionize the consumer experience at Vodafone. Every Vodafone customer touchpoint, including the digital assistant TOBi, accessible in thirteen of the company’s service countries, will incorporate Microsoft Azure OpenAI.
The telecom colossus will also provide its employees with the AI tool Copilot, developed by Microsoft, which aims to “transform working practices, increase productivity, and enhance digital efficiency.”
Microsoft’s chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella, stated that the company is “ecstatic” to assist Vodafone in improving the consumer experience for its hundreds of millions of clients in Europe and Africa by utilizing cutting-edge cloud and AI technologies.
“This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organization and every industry around the world.”
Vodafone stated that, under its established framework for responsible AI, the AI integrations will be structured around “ethical and unbiased privacy and security policies.”
Furthermore, the collaboration seeks to expand Vodafone’s Internet of Things (IoT) connective infrastructure to a larger scale and create novel digital and financial services, specifically catering to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe and Africa.
This occurred on January 15, a few days after Microsoft released the pro version of Copilot. The $20 per month paid version provides all users with “business-level” capabilities, such as Office integration and customized GPTs.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 16, Nadella referred to the company’s partnership with OpenAI as a “no-brainer” and stated that it promotes healthy competition in the AI industry.
