Microsoft is continuing to advance its AI offensive and making its “Copilot” assistant available in products for consumers.
For $20 a month, they get access to the latest version of the chatbot ChatGPT as well as functions for creating images, as the company announced on Tuesday night. Consumers who have a subscription to Microsoft’s Office software will also be able to use AI functions there. The Enterprise version removes the requirement to have at least 300 subscriptions.
Microsoft had signed a billion-dollar pact with the ChatGPT developer company OpenAI and tried to integrate functions based on artificial intelligence into all of its products under the “Copilot” name. The group will thus become a driving force in the increased use of AI in various areas. Now Microsoft is also introducing an app for Android smartphones and iPhones with “Copilot” functions.
Vodafone and Microsoft agree on comprehensive AI partnership
The British telecommunications group Vodafone and Microsoft have entered into a far-reaching strategic partnership on artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The agreement has a term of ten years, the two companies announced on Tuesday.
As part of the cooperation, future technologies such as the Internet of Things and cloud services will be expanded to include AI functions. This will provide digital platforms and services to more than 300 million companies, public service organizations and consumers in Europe and Africa.
With the help of Microsoft’s generative AI – especially AI chatbots – they want to improve the support of Vodafone customers. AI is also intended to help provide Vodafone’s global platform for the Internet of Things on a large scale as a so-called hyperscaler. The partnership will also develop digital and financial services for companies, particularly for small and medium-sized companies across Europe and Africa.
Vodafone said it would invest $1.5 billion (1.37 billion euros) over the next ten years in services developed together with Microsoft. But the deal doesn’t just go in one direction: According to the announcement, Microsoft will use Vodafone’s landline and mobile services.
Microsoft continues to intend to invest in Vodafone’s Internet of Things platform, the companies said. This platform should become a separate, independent company by April 2024. “The new company will attract new partners and customers, drive application growth and expand the platform to connect more devices, vehicles and machines.”
Microsoft is currently considered the world’s leading provider of AI services, also because the company secured access to OpenAI’s technology early on with investments worth billions. The company’s investments in artificial intelligence have recently driven up its share price. The software company is now in a race with Apple to become the most valuable company in the world.
The British Vodafone Group, together with its competitors Telefónica and Orange, is fighting for the position of the second largest telecommunications company in Europe. The European market leader is Deutsche Telekom.
On the London stock exchange, Vodafone shares temporarily rose 0.33 percent to 67.38 pence. Microsoft shares temporarily gained 0.70 percent to $391.18 in premarket trading on the NASDAQ.
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