(Reuters) – Microsoft will use Lumen Technologies’ networking equipment to expand its capacity for AI workloads, the companies said on Wednesday, as the tech giant looks to meet growing demand in its data centers.
Microsoft said in April that a shortage of data center infrastructure needed to deploy AI models was hampering its ability to capitalize on the technology boom.
The company has taken an early lead in the AI race thanks to its investment in ChatGPT maker OpenAI and has poured billions of dollars into cloud infrastructure to maintain its lead over Google parent Alphabet and Amazon.com.
As part of the deal on Wednesday, Lumen will use the tech giant’s Azure cloud services to cut costs.
The move to Azure, the companies say, will help improve Lumen’s cash flow by more than $20 million over the next 12 months, supporting the turnaround at the company, which restructured its debt in March.
Lumen had $18.59 billion in long-term debt as of March 31, according to its latest quarterly earnings report.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)