Coca-Cola and Microsoft Announce Strategic AI-Focused Partnership
ATLANTA and REDMOND, Wash. — April 23, 2024 — The Coca-Cola Company and Microsoft Corp. have announced a five-year strategic alliance to accelerate cloud and generative AI initiatives. This collaboration aims to align Coca-Cola’s core technology strategy, facilitate cutting-edge technology adoption, and foster innovation and productivity across the company’s global network.
As part of this strategic partnership, Coca-Cola is committing $1.1 billion to the Microsoft Cloud and its generative AI capabilities. This partnership underscores Coca-Cola’s ongoing digital transformation, with the Microsoft Cloud acting as its preferred cloud and AI platform.
The companies will jointly explore new technologies like Azure OpenAI Service to create innovative generative AI use cases across various business functions. This includes evaluating how Copilot for Microsoft 365 can enhance 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 transitioned all its applications to Microsoft Azure, with the majority of its major independent bottling partners following suit. Coca-Cola has been innovating with generative AI for nearly a year and has already leveraged Azure OpenAI Service across several areas, including marketing, manufacturing, and supply chain.
The company is currently exploring generative AI-powered digital assistants on Azure OpenAI Service to assist employees in improving customer service, streamlining operations, and boosting efficiency. These initiatives aim to foster innovation, create a competitive edge, and uncover new growth opportunities.
John Murphy, president and chief financial officer of The Coca-Cola Company, stated, “This new agreement builds on the success of Coca-Cola’s partnership strategy with Microsoft, showing our commitment to ongoing digital transformation. Our partnership with Microsoft has grown exponentially, from the $250 million agreement we initially announced in 2020 to $1.1 billion today.”
The agreement marks a significant advancement in Coca-Cola’s digital transformation. It offers expanded access to Microsoft’s cloud and AI platforms as well as solutions, such as Microsoft 365, Power BI, Dynamics 365, Defender, and Fabric, to boost efficiency, scalability, and innovation across its system.
Neeraj Tolmare, senior vice president and global chief information officer for The Coca-Cola Company, emphasized, “Our expanded partnership with Microsoft is an important next chapter in Coca-Cola’s journey toward a digital-first enterprise powered by emerging technologies. Microsoft’s capabilities help accelerate our adoption of AI to create incremental enterprise value.”
