SANTIAGO, March 5, 2026, 18:17 CLST
Microsoft struck an 18-month memorandum of understanding, a framework agreement, with Chile’s Codelco on Thursday to test artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, automation and digital security in the miner’s operations. The deal pushes Microsoft’s AI sales drive deeper into heavy industry, beyond the office software and cloud tools that anchor its business. 1
The timing matters. Microsoft is trying to show its AI build-out can win contracts in the real economy even as that build-out draws scrutiny over power demand. A day earlier, the company joined Alphabet, Amazon and Meta in a White House pledge to pay for new electricity generation for data centers. 2
For Codelco, the world’s biggest copper producer, the draw is productivity. The state miner has been grappling with declining ore grades, project delays and accidents, while a government decree reviewed by Reuters showed it plans about $3.9 billion of investment in 2026 and expects output to edge higher this year. 3
Codelco said the work will center on advanced analytics — software that sifts large data sets to guide decisions — as well as AI, automation and cyber defenses. Chief Executive Ruben Alvarado said the aim was to handle larger volumes of operational data and raise the value the company returns to the Chilean state. 4
Microsoft Latin America President Tito Arciniega said the tie-up could help deliver “safer, more efficient and sustainable operations.” Microsoft’s regional statement said the companies have worked together for more than 27 years and that the new phase could include pilots, early tests of new tools and training programs for workers. 5
The Chile pact lands as rivals chase their own industry AI footholds. Google Cloud said on Thursday it would help CVS Health build a real-time health platform, while Amazon Web Services rolled out a healthcare tool for tasks such as appointment booking, note drafting and medical coding. 6 7
The spending behind that race is swelling fast. Bridgewater Associates said Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta are expected to invest about $650 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, up from $410 billion in 2025, and co-chief investment officer Greg Jensen warned the boom had entered a “more dangerous phase” as physical infrastructure costs rose. 8
But Wall Street has become tougher on long AI cycles. Microsoft’s shares fell 10% after its January results, and Zavier Wong, a market analyst at eToro, said the company’s deep ties to OpenAI “underpin its leadership in enterprise AI” but also bring concentration risk. 9
Microsoft has tried to answer that doubt with harder numbers. In January it said it had spent more than $200 billion on AI since fiscal 2024, had 15 million annual users for M365 Copilot and a cloud backlog of $625 billion — figures that help explain why industry deals like the one with Codelco matter to its next phase of growth. 10
