By Toby Ingleton |
Industrials conglomerate 3M and Microsoft have entered into a new partnership focused on AI data centre infrastructure.
Microsoft will deploy 3M’s Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) technology in its Azure data centres. The firms expect the combination of their technologies and capabilities to accelerate AI adoption and strengthen physical networks required for the growth of cloud and AI workloads.
“At Microsoft, we’re redefining the foundation of cloud and AI infrastructure — combining our own innovations with advances from partners like 3M to build data centres that are faster to deploy, more resilient and ready for the scale of AI,” said Cliff Henson, corporate vice president, cloud supply chain and engineering at Microsoft. “3M’s EBO solution will help unlock new levels of performance, reliability and efficiency to ensure customers can run their cloud and AI workloads on a trusted, sustainable and advanced environment.”
By using an optical interface instead of direct contact required in traditional connectors, EBO technology is designed to make fibre connections faster to install, more tolerant of contamination and easier to maintain. Microsoft expects EBO to reduce the need for frequent cleaning and inspection, while supporting reliable optical performance in dense, high-volume deployment environments.
3M is scaling production of its EBO technology to meet accelerating demand from hyperscalers and data center operators building the infrastructure required for AI. It also helped establish the EBO Multi-Source Agreement to support standardization and broader industry adoption of EBO technology.
3M will also use Microsoft’s AI and digital platforms for enterprise transformation. It will deploy Microsoft AI in areas including customer service, finance, sales and marketing, to help simplify processes and improve decision-making, customer experiences and employee productivity.
For example, the newly launched Microsoft Frontier Company is deploying engineers to help 3M’s Global Business Services team automate customer order management. AI agent-driven workflows will assist with credit checks, delinquency assessments and system updates, with human-in-the-loop controls and a custom monitoring dashboard for real-time visibility and approvals. This solution is expected to free 3M staff for higher-value work.
“At 3M, we view AI as a powerful tool that can accelerate growth, improve customer experiences and help our teams work more effectively,” said Jon Van Wyck, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, 3M. “Our collaboration with Microsoft supports that vision through targeted optimisation opportunities for our enterprise while advancing the infrastructure needed to power the future of AI. We are excited to deepen our partnership and develop practical solutions that can create mutual value.”