Coca‑Cola pours $1.1B into generative AI experiment with Microsoft

Microsoft intends to use services like Azure OpenAI Service and Copilot for Microsoft 365 to help drive AI innovation for the Coca‑Cola Company and its network of independent bottlers worldwide.

The Coca-Cola Company has signed a five-year deal with Microsoft to develop and integrate artificial intelligence (AI) use cases across various business functions.

Coca‑Cola committed $1.1 billion to the Microsoft Cloud for its generative AI and cloud capabilities. According to the announcement made on April 23, the duo will jointly experiment with Azure OpenAI Service and other technologies “to develop innovative generative AI use cases across various business functions.”

In addition, the companies will experiment with the Microsoft Copilot Microsoft 365 AI assistant to test its efficacy in improving workplace productivity.

As part of the drive, Coca-Cola migrated all its applications to Microsoft Azure. Judson Althoff, the executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Microsoft, said:

“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.”

Using Azure OpenAI Service, Coca-Cola is currently exploring the use of generative AI-powered digital assistants to improve performance metrics related to customer experiences, streamline operations, and improve efficiency, among other things.

Coca-Cola’s AI partnership with Microsoft dates back to 2020, which started off as a $250 million agreement. “Microsoft’s capabilities help accelerate our adoption of AI to create incremental enterprise value,” said Neeraj Tolmare, senior vice president and global chief information officer for The Coca-Cola Company.

Related: Microsoft pours $1.5B into UAE AI company, sets sights on global expansion

On April 9, Microsoft AI executive vice president and CEO Mustafa Suleyman revealed the firm’s plans to make a “significant, long-term investment” in the United Kingdom as they start scouting potential candidates in the region.

In a blog post, Suleyman said:

“There is an enormous pool of AI talent and expertise in the U.K., and Microsoft AI plans to make a significant, long-term investment in the region as we begin hiring the best AI scientists and engineers into this new AI hub.”

Suleyman’s statements came as he announced the creation of an AI hub in the United Kingdom. The hub’s goal is to advance AI language models and their infrastructure.

In addition, it would also create tooling for foundation models and collaborate with its AI teams across the globe and its partners like OpenAI.