Axel Springer to migrate some cloud applications to Microsoft's Azure

(Reuters) - Global news publisher Axel Springer will migrate some of its cloud-based applications to Microsoft's Azure and work with the firm on bolstering its AI capabilities, the companies said on Monday, as they expanded their partnership.

Axel Springer will also work with the tech giant to launch an AI-driven chat experience, which will feature content from the news publisher, the companies said.

The deal will build on Axel Springers initiatives such as its AI assistant "Hey_" which is powered by Azure OpenAI Service, they added.

The news publisher will use Microsoft Advertising's Chat Ads API to monetize the chat-based experiences.

Axel Springer's content across its brands including Politico, Business Insider, Bild and Welt will be made available to Microsoft Start-MSN users, under the expanded deal.

Axel Springer signed a landmark deal with OpenAI last December to deliver summaries of it content in response to ChatGPT queries.

(This story has been refiled to fix a typo in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)