Hitachi and Microsoft Partner in Multi-Billion Dollar Deal to Boost Generative AI

In a significant boost to the digital landscape, Hitachi Ltd., a multinational conglomerate company, has joined forces with technology titan Microsoft Corp. in a partnership that's worth several billions of dollars. This alliance is set to foster advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI), with plans to revolutionize a multitude of sectors significantly. It marks an earnest commitment by both entities to further digital transformation and to ramp up productivity within Hitachi's expansive suite of services.

Integrating Advanced Technologies

As a major aspect of the agreement, Hitachi plans to incorporate a broad swath of Microsoft's pioneering technologies into its esteemed Lumada solutions. The array of technologies includes Azure Open AI Service, Dynamics 365, Copilot for Microsoft 365, and GitHub Copilot. This integration seeks to bolster the capabilities of Hitachi's Lumada business, with an ambitious revenue target of 2.65 trillion yen (approximately $18.9 billion USD) set for the fiscal year 2024. Moreover, it is expected to streamline operations for Hitachi's substantial workforce, which comprises about 270,000 personnel.

Targeting Key Sectors and Business Needs

The collaboration places special emphasis on creating leading-edge solutions specifically for the energy and mobility sectors. The hope is to yield improved business outcomes and extend societal benefits. The two powerhouses are also dedicated to grappling with vital business requisites, such as the enhancement of cloud services, fortification of security measures, and the minimization of environmental harm attributable to data centers.

A Transformational Journey

Keiji Kojima, Hitachi's president and CEO, noted the transformative journey underway at the company, "By applying AI technology across our company, we are transforming how we operate and seeking to capitalize on new growth opportunities through generative AI," he remarked. Through this collaboration, Hitahi expects to propel its innovation engine, particularly in the crucial sectors of energy and mobility, thus fostering frontline worker productivity.

Microsoft's chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella, also commented on the partnership's promise, emphasizing the synergistic combination of Microsoft Cloud and Copilot technologies with Hitachi's sector-specific proficiencies as a means to tackle some of the most pressing business and sustainability challenges.

Paving the Way for Future Innovators

The alliance will birth opportunities for innovation within Hitachi's Generative AI Center, which will operate closely with Microsoft. The objective is to refine application development processes within Hitachi, employing tools like GitHub Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service to ensure elevated standards and productivity. Additionally, there is an initiative to develop over 50,000 'GenAI Professionals,' well-versed in advanced AI skills, to support customer-oriented transformations and internal proficiency boosts.

Hitachi, Microsoft, AI