Vodafone Group Plc and Microsoft Corp. entered a ten-year agreement, involving a $1.5 billion investment, to advance various business sectors, including artificial intelligence, digital payments, and the Internet of Things, on January 16.
Within the terms of the deal, Vodafone will employ OpenAI technology on Azure to elevate customer service operations, incorporating improvements to its consumer chatbot. Moreover, Vodafone staff will gain access to Microsoft Copilot, as disclosed in a joint statement.
The agreement is expected to offer scale digital platforms to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organisations, and consumers across Europe and Africa.
“This new generation of AI will unlock massive new opportunities for every organisation 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.”
Microsoft is actively seeking more users for its Copilot AI assistants following a $13 billion investment in OpenAI. Corporate customers are billed $30 per user per month for Copilot access, nearly doubling the typical cost for Microsoft’s Office suite of products, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Microsoft’s investment in Vodafone’s standalone global IoT-managed connectivity platform is aimed at connecting 175 million devices worldwide, while Vodafone becomes part of the Azure ecosystem. The agreement is aimed at scaling M-Pesa, Africa’s largest financial technology platform, on Azure and launching a purpose-led program to enrich the lives of 100 million consumers and 1 million SMEs across the continent.
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group chief executive, said: “Today, Vodafone has made a bold commitment to the digital future of Europe and Africa. This unique strategic partnership with Microsoft will accelerate the digital transformation of our business customers, particularly small and medium-sized companies, and step up the quality of customer experience for consumers.”
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Published: 16 Jan 2024, 02:10 PM IST