Microsoft and Cognizant forge global partnership to propel generative AI adoption

Microsoft today announced its global partnership with Cognizant to expand the adoption of generative AI among enterprise customers and drive industry transformation.

Leveraging Microsoft Copilot and Cognizant's advisory and digital transformation services, the expanded partnership will help transform enterprise business operations, enhance employee experiences and accelerate cross-industry innovation.

"Generative AI can be a game-changer for virtually every business in every industry, opening up new possibilities for innovation, efficiency and growth. That's why we are investing $1 billion in generative AI over the next three years and leading the development of new research to explore its potential for our clients, their employees and end customers. We’re committed to helping them harness the power of generative AI at scale, and Microsoft Copilot is a proven tool that can bring transformative gains, unlocking talent and potential in ways we can only imagine," said Ravi Kumar S, CEO, Cognizant.

The partnership is poised to deliver substantial innovation for enterprise customers, contributing to the projected $1 trillion that AI is expected to inject into U.S. GDP over the next decade. This partnership also has the potential to significantly drive AI adoption and innovation in India, with AI estimated to add USD 450-500 billion to the country's GDP by 2025, accounting for 10% of its USD 5 trillion GDP target.

As part of this expanded collaboration, Cognizant has purchased 25,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot seats for its associates, along with 500 Sales Copilot seats and 500 Services Copilot seats to enhance productivity, streamline workflows and transform customer experiences.

Further, Cognizant plans to deploy Microsoft 365 Copilot to a million users within their global 2000 clients and across 11 industries.

"Our expanded partnership with Cognizant will help organizations harness generative AI to transform business operations, enhance employee experiences, and deliver new value for customers," said Judson Althoff, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Microsoft.

According to Microsoft's press release, the two companies will team up to deliver industry-specific solutions, using Microsoft Copilot Studio, with a focus on key sectors including healthcare, retail, consumer goods, financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, communications, and media.