Microsoft has launched a new business unit called 'Frontier Company' with a $2.5 billion budget, aiming to embed 6,000 AI engineers and industry experts directly with enterprise customers. According to Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft Commercial Business, the unit will focus on co-designing, co-innovating, deploying, and continuously improving AI systems at scale based on measurable business outcomes. This initiative is intended to go beyond the standard 'Forward Deployed Engineering' model and position Microsoft as the largest, results-oriented engineering organization in the industry.
The move comes as AI budgets face increasing scrutiny, and customers seek tangible proof of productivity gains from AI deployments. Althoff emphasized that the new unit will serve as a platform-neutral alternative to OpenAI and Anthropic, which deploy only their own models through dedicated deployment firms. Microsoft is also leveraging its existing partner network, including system integrators like Accenture, Capgemini, EY, KPMG, and PwC, to scale the initiative globally. Rodrigo Kede Lima will lead the new unit.
Microsoft is not the only company pursuing enterprise AI integration. OpenAI and Anthropic have also established specialized deployment firms, acknowledging that AI adoption requires more than just a chat tool. OpenAI’s Deployment Company (DeployCo) has over $4 billion in capital and deploys around 150 engineers on-site at customer locations. Anthropic, in partnership with Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, has launched a company targeting mid-sized firms lacking internal AI resources. Source: thedecoder
