3M and Microsoft Corp. have entered into a strategic partnership to strengthen artificial intelligence data centre infrastructure while accelerating the adoption of AI across 3M’s global operations, as demand for cloud computing capacity continues to surge.
The collaboration will combine Microsoft’s hyperscale cloud and AI capabilities with 3M’s materials science and manufacturing expertise to improve the physical infrastructure underpinning AI and cloud services.
Under the agreement, Microsoft Azure will become the first announced hyperscale cloud provider to deploy 3M’s Expanded Beam Optical (EBO) technology in its data centres, while 3M will adopt Microsoft’s AI platforms to transform functions including customer service, finance, sales and marketing.
The partnership reflects growing investment by technology companies in next-generation networking technologies as AI applications drive demand for faster, more resilient and energy-efficient data centres.
3M’s Expanded Beam Optical technology is designed to enhance the speed, reliability and efficiency of fibre-optic connections within AI data centres. Unlike conventional fibre connectors that rely on direct physical contact, the technology uses an expanded optical beam interface that allows faster installation, improved resistance to contamination and simpler maintenance.
According to the companies, Microsoft’s early deployment of the technology has shown potential to shorten network deployment times in certain environments while maintaining strong signal performance under typical operating conditions. To meet rising demand from hyperscale cloud providers and data centre operators, 3M said it is expanding production of the technology and supporting broader industry adoption through the Expanded Beam Optical Multi-Source Agreement.
Cliff Henson, Corporate Vice President, Cloud Supply Chain and Engineering, at Microsoft said, “At Microsoft, we’re redefining the foundation of cloud and AI infrastructure, combining our own innovations with advances from partners like 3M to build datacenters that are faster to deploy, more resilient and ready for the scale of AI.
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.”
Beyond infrastructure, the partnership will see 3M deploy Microsoft’s AI technologies across its enterprise to automate business processes, improve decision-making, enhance customer experiences and increase workforce productivity.
One of the first projects will involve Microsoft’s Frontier Company engineers working with 3M’s Global Business Services team to automate customer order management using AI-powered workflows. The system will support tasks including credit checks, delinquency assessments and system updates while maintaining human oversight through monitoring dashboards and approval controls.
The companies expect the initiative to reduce manual work, improve operational consistency, accelerate cash flow and support more scalable operations.
Jon Van Wyck, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at 3M said, “We view AI as a powerful tool that can accelerate growth, improve customer experiences and help our teams work more effectively. Our collaboration with Microsoft supports that vision through targeted optimization 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.”
The companies said they plan to deepen the partnership through continued collaboration between engineering and commercial teams while exploring additional opportunities across Microsoft’s data centre and device ecosystem. Future work will focus on addressing evolving AI infrastructure requirements, including deployment speed, reliability, network density and long-term scalability.
