Laura Hyde |
Microsoft and The Coca-Cola Company have formed a five-year partnership will enable them to jointly experiment with “groundbreaking technology”.
Coca-Cola has made a $1.1 billion investment to Microsoft’s cloud and generative artificial intelligence technologies. By doing this the company aims to foster innovation and productivity globally.
“This new agreement builds on the success of Coca-Cola’s partnership strategy with Microsoft, showing our commitment to ongoing digital transformation,” said John Murphy, president and chief financial officer of The Coca-Cola Company. “Our partnership with Microsoft has grown exponentially, from the $250 million agreement we initially announced in 2020 to $1.1 billion today.”
The partnership will enable the two companies to jointly experiment with technologies including Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to develop generative AI solutions for various business functions. They will also test how Copilot for Microsoft 365 could improve workplace productivity.
“Through our long-term partnership, we have made significant progress to accelerate system-wide AI transformation across The Coca-Cola Company and its network of independent bottlers worldwide,” said Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Microsoft. “We are proud to support Coca-Cola as it continues to embrace the era of AI and looks to solutions like Azure OpenAI Service and Copilot for Microsoft 365 to drive innovation across every area of its business.”
Coca-Cola has already migrated all its applications to Microsoft Azure and has been experimenting with generative AI for nearly a year. It has leveraged Azure OpenAI Service to transform its marketing, manufacturing and supply chain. It is also currently exploring how generative AI-powered digital assistants on Azure OpenAI Service can help improve customer experiences, streamline operations and uncover new growth opportunities, among other things.
“Our expanded partnership with Microsoft is an important next chapter in Coca-Cola’s journey toward a digital-first enterprise powered by emerging technologies,” said Neeraj Tolmare, senior vice president and global chief information officer for The Coca-Cola Company. “Microsoft’s capabilities help accelerate our adoption of AI to create incremental enterprise value.”