EY and Microsoft Announce Joint AI Initiative with a One Billion Dollar Investment
EY and Microsoft launch a joint AI initiative and invest over $1 billion over five years.
EY and Microsoft are strengthening their partnership with the launch of a new joint initiative in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), accompanied by a planned investment of over one billion US dollars over five years. This ambitious project aims to help organizations deploy AI at scale in their operations.
A Sector Collaboration to Transform Businesses
The program will bring together Microsoft engineers specializing in advanced deployments and EY's sector and consulting teams. These integrated groups, organized by sector, will work with clients to embed AI into key functions such as finance, tax, risk management, human resources, and supply chain.
The two companies aim to go beyond pilot projects to promote widespread adoption of AI tools through concrete operational uses. The targeted sectors include financial services, industry, energy, consumer goods, retail, as well as government and healthcare.
Unified Governance and Measurable Outcomes
As part of this alliance, EY and Microsoft will adopt a common governance structure and aligned business models. This means that Microsoft’s engineering teams and EY’s business advisors will operate within a single framework, combining technical expertise with deep sector knowledge.
Janet Truncale, Global Chair and CEO of EY, stated: "Together with Microsoft, EY supports clients in unlocking value through rapid large-scale AI deployment. With access to a unique integrated team, clients will benefit from both Microsoft's technical depth and EY's sector knowledge and change management capabilities. By combining talent and innovation in this next phase of the alliance, clients will be able to realize the transformative power of autonomous AI within their businesses."
On his part, Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President of Microsoft's Commercial Division, emphasized: "AI is rapidly moving from the experimentation phase to becoming a central driver of business performance, and the companies that get ahead are those that expand their transformation through AI. Our initiative combines Microsoft’s reliable AI platform and engineering teams with EY’s industry capabilities and experience as 'Client Zero'—applying these technologies within their own organization—to help clients move from pilot projects to enterprise-wide execution, thereby improving decision-making and generating measurable impact."
EY as an Internal Experimentation Lab
EY is also using its own internal technology deployment as a model for its clients. The firm describes itself as "Client Zero," testing its methods and products internally before commercializing them. This approach particularly focuses on the use of the Microsoft Copilot tool.
The tool was initially deployed to 150,000 users at EY, resulting in a 15% increase in productivity, with additional time spent on client work and training. Now, EY is expanding the use of Microsoft 365 E7 to over 400,000 employees worldwide, thereby integrating AI tools across its operations.
Some concrete examples of internal AI use include increased efficiency in financial operations through the Microsoft Power Platform and Copilot Studio, with lead times reduced by up to 95% and operational costs decreased by over 37%. In auditing, the integration of Microsoft Azure, Foundry, and Fabric into EY Canvas has improved workflows for 130,000 professionals, covering 160,000 audit engagements. In taxation, the adoption of Microsoft Azure AI Document Intelligence has automated data extraction, reducing manual work by up to 90%.
A Response to Growing Demand for Large-Scale AI
This initiative comes as major professional services firms and technology players seek to transform initial experiments in generative AI into broader commercial contracts. While many organizations have experimented with AI tools over the past two years, many still struggle to integrate them comprehensively.
By combining strategic consulting and technological support within a single business dynamic, EY and Microsoft are specifically targeting sectors where companies face pressure to reduce manual tasks, improve reporting, and meet regulatory requirements while adopting new technologies.
With this investment of over one billion dollars and this strengthened alliance, EY and Microsoft clearly demonstrate their ambition to guide businesses towards complete and sustainable transformation through AI.
Geoffrey G.
