London/Redmond (dpa) - The British telecommunications group Vodafone and the world's largest software company Microsoft have concluded a far-reaching strategic partnership on artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The agreement will run for 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 for more than 300 million companies, public sector organizations and consumers in Europe and Africa.

With the help of generative AI from Microsoft - especially AI chatbots - Vodafone aims to improve customer care. AI will also help to provide Vodafone's global platform for the Internet of Things on a large scale as a hyperscaler. The partnership will also develop digital and financial services for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe and Africa.

Vodafone said it would invest 1.5 billion US dollars (1.37 billion euros) over the next ten years in the services to be developed jointly with Microsoft. However, the deal is not just one-way: according to the announcement, Microsoft will use Vodafone's fixed and mobile services.

Microsoft still intends to invest in Vodafone's Internet of Things platform, the companies also announced. This platform is to become a separate, independent company by April 2024. "The new company will attract new partners and customers, drive growth in applications and expand the platform to connect more devices, vehicles and machines."

Microsoft is currently regarded as the world's leading provider of AI services, partly because the Group secured access to OpenAI's technology early on by investing 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 is battling with its competitors Telefónica and Orange to become the second-largest telecommunications company in Europe. The European market leader is Deutsche Telekom.