Microsoft puts $2.5B and 6,000 experts behind Frontier Company

The new global business will embed AI engineers and industry specialists with enterprise customers to build systems around their data, workflows and operational goals.

Microsoft Frontier Company will deploy 6,000 industry and engineering specialists to support enterprise AI projects

Microsoft has created Microsoft Frontier Company, a new operating business backed by a $2.5 billion investment and 6,000 industry and engineering specialists focused on enterprise AI deployment.

Frontier Company will work directly with organizations to design, deploy and continuously improve AI systems, with Microsoft positioning the unit around measurable business outcomes rather than short-term experimentation.

The 6,000 specialists will be embedded with customers and combine AI engineering with industry knowledge, organizational change support and ongoing system improvement. Microsoft has not specified the period over which the $2.5 billion will be invested.

Rodrigo Kede Lima has been appointed president of Microsoft Frontier Company. He has spent six years at Microsoft and brings 30 years of industry experience, including leadership roles covering enterprise transformation in the Americas and Asia.

Microsoft said the approach was already being used with organizations including London Stock Exchange Group, Land O’Lakes, Unilever and Novo Nordisk. Frontier Company will also work with consulting partners including Accenture, Capgemini, EY, KPMG and PwC to extend the service across markets.

Microsoft shifts focus from AI trials to deployment

Frontier Company is intended to support organizations moving from AI pilots into production systems that operate across established business processes.

The unit will combine engineering work with change management and industry expertise, allowing teams to co-design AI applications with Microsoft specialists and continue refining them after deployment.

Darren Hardman, chief executive officer of Microsoft UK and Ireland, wrote on LinkedIn:

“We’re investing $2.5bn (£1.9bn) in Microsoft Frontier Company which will comprise 6,000 industry and engineering experts ready to help our customers amplify their corporate intelligence, protect their proprietary data, and deliver a return on their AI investments.”

Microsoft described the model as broader than forward-deployed engineering, where technical teams work closely with customers to implement software in operational environments.

The service will cover the full process from identifying a business requirement and selecting models to building systems, measuring results and adapting workflows over time.

Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft, wrote on LinkedIn: “The future of the firm is a learning loop in which human capital and token capital compound.”

He added:

“With our new Frontier Co., our ambition is to help every enterprise build its own AI capability, and to help create a frontier ecosystem where every organization can turn its knowledge, workflows, and judgment into its own AI systems that continuously improve.”

LSEG among early Frontier Company customers

Microsoft said its teams had worked with London Stock Exchange Group to integrate AI into LSEG Workspace, allowing finance professionals to submit questions across structured and unstructured financial information.

The system is being refined through user feedback and testing, according to Microsoft, with each development cycle used to adjust model quality and the range of supported tasks.

Microsoft also named Land O’Lakes, Unilever and pharmaceutical business Novo Nordisk as customers using the approach, although it did not provide comparable implementation details or outcome figures for those organizations.

Frontier Company will use Microsoft’s wider partner network to increase delivery capacity. Accenture, Capgemini, EY, KPMG and PwC were identified as global systems integration partners supporting the work.

The new business will operate globally rather than as a UK-only program, with its specialists working across industries and customer locations.

Microsoft emphasizes data control and model choice

Microsoft said Frontier Company would be built around two principles it describes as intelligence and trust.

The intelligence element centers on helping organizations use proprietary data, internal expertise, workflows and decision-making processes to create AI systems specific to their operations.

The trust element covers security, governance, system monitoring and financial management, including the use of FinOps practices to track spending and returns.

Microsoft said customer data, intellectual property and competitive information would not be used to train models in ways that remove the organization's control over its own knowledge.

Frontier Company will also support multiple model providers rather than requiring customers to use one model family. Microsoft identified models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft AI, alongside open-source and industry-specific systems, as possible options.

Rodrigo Kede Lima will now lead the new operating business as Microsoft begins deploying the 6,000-person team with customers and partners across global markets.