Hitachi and Microsoft forge multibillion-dollar alliance to unleash generative AI for business and society

Today, a big deal has been made by Hitachi and Microsoft. They are forming a partnership for many billions of dollars which will change industries and promote social innovation with the help of generative AI. This strategic alliance, planned to last three years, is created to speed up Hitachi’s Lumada business with a goal of revenue reaching 2.65 trillion yen (about US$18.9 billion) in FY2024 while also increasing efficiency for its 270000 workers.

Key Highlights:

Hitachi will unite Microsoft’s cloud, Azure OpenAI Service, Dynamics 365, Copilot for Microsoft 365, and GitHub Copilot into its Lumada platform. This combination of tools is set to offer advanced outcomes in energy as well as mobility areas along with other sectors for businesses and society (Microsoft News Center | Hitachi’s Lumada Platform).

Hitachi’s Generative AI Center and Microsoft plan to work together on improving operations and application development within Hitachi. They will use Copilot for GitHub, as well as Azure OpenAI Service for elevating experiences in customer service.

Industry Transformation: In the field of industrial automation, Hitachi Rail is currently using generative AI to carry out predictive maintenance. This helps them enhance their ability in monitoring equipment, refining forecasts and preventing breakdowns. These new methods aid in improving service quality and safety.

Sustainable Innovation: Joint projects will concentrate on strengthening cloud services, improving security and lessening the environmental effect of data centers. The combination of Hitachi Energy’s Enterprise Software Solutions with Microsoft’s technology will enhance energy networks for a sustainable future.

Skilling for the Future: Hitachi commits to train more than 50,000 “GenAI Professionals” having deep AI skills, combining Microsoft’s training programs for boosting customers’ transformations with AI.

“We are entering a new era of AI with the promise to deliver transformative business outcomes across every role and industry,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “Our expanded partnership with Hitachi will bring together the power of the Microsoft Cloud — including Microsoft Copilot — with Hitachi’s industry expertise to improve the productivity of 270,000 Hitachi employees and help address customers’ biggest challenges, including sustainability.”

The effects of this partnership are predicted to greatly speed up the acceptance of generative AI in all types of industries. It will push forward new methods in various sectors, such as manufacturing, transportation and goods delivery – leading to better productivity, usefulness and environmental friendliness. People who invest money are keeping a close eye on this collaboration because it could be seen as a guide for future partnerships between big tech companies and industrial leaders.