Vodafone Group Plc and Microsoft Corp. signed a ten-year deal to advance several business sectors, including artificial intelligence, digital payments, and the Internet of Things, with a $1.5 billion investment.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, Vodafone will use OpenAI technology on Azure to improve customer support operations, including enhancements to its consumer chatbot. Furthermore, Vodafone employees will have access to Microsoft Copilot.

 

The agreement is expected to offer scale digital platforms to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organisations, and consumers across Europe and Africa, as per livemint.

 

“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 pursuing more customers for its Copilot AI helpers following a $13 billion investment in OpenAI. Corporate users are charged $30 per person per month for Copilot access, which is approximately double the average cost for Microsoft's Office suite of products.

 

Microsoft's investment in Vodafone's standalone global IoT-managed connectivity platform aims to connect 175 million devices worldwide, and Vodafone joins the Azure ecosystem. The agreement aims to scale M-Pesa, Africa's largest financial technology platform, on Azure and establish a purpose-driven program to improve the lives of 100 million customers and 1 million SMEs across the continent.