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Axel Springer and Microsoft expand partnership across advertising, AI, content and Azure

Axel Springer and Microsoft announced a broader partnership that includes piloting AI chat experiences built on Axel Springer journalism, more premium Business Insider, Politico, Bild and Welt content on Microsoft Start-MSN, and a move of Axel Springer's SAP systems to Azure. Financial terms were not disclosed.

REDMOND, Wash. and BERLIN, April 29, 2024 - Axel Springer and Microsoft announced an expanded partnership across advertising, AI, content and Azure cloud services. Financial terms were not disclosed.1

Terms of the deal

The companies said they will develop new AI-driven experiences. Axel Springer will pilot AI chat experiences that present its journalism, building on its Hey_ assistant, and will use Microsoft Advertising's Chat Ads API to monetize generative AI.1 Microsoft Start-MSN will offer more premium content from Business Insider, Politico, Bild and Welt.1

Advertising and cloud

Axel Springer will adopt Microsoft Advertising as its ad server in the U.S., extending an existing European collaboration, and Politico will join the Microsoft Advertising Network. Axel Springer will also expand its use of Azure AI and move its SAP systems to Azure.1

Background

In October 2024 Microsoft also began paying Axel Springer, Reuters, Hearst, USA Today Network and the Financial Times for Copilot Daily, according to a Digiday timeline.2

What it means for data sellers

A seller with several revenue lines can trade content access for advertising and infrastructure terms. Sellers should price each part separately so the value of the content is visible, and should note that this announcement did not state whether content could be used for model training.

This entry is a news summary. SellYourAIData was not involved in the deal.

How the deal came together

  1. The expansion was announced. On April 29, 2024 Axel Springer SE and Microsoft announced an expanded partnership covering advertising, AI, content and cloud services.
  2. AI chat pilots use Axel Springer journalism. Axel Springer will pilot AI chat experiences that present its journalistic content, building on its Hey_ assistant, which runs partly on Azure OpenAI Service.
  3. More premium content goes to MSN. Microsoft Start-MSN will offer more premium content from Business Insider, Politico, Bild and Welt.
  4. Advertising and cloud are part of the package. Axel Springer will use Microsoft Advertising as its ad server, including in the U.S., and will migrate its SAP systems to Azure.

Takeaways for companies with data

  • Publisher AI deals can be bundles of content, advertising technology and cloud services, which makes the content value hard to isolate.
  • The announcement named display of journalism in AI chat experiences and did not describe model training.
  • No price was disclosed, so this deal gives no per-article or per-year benchmark.

Sources

Every numbered reference above points to an entry here. Figures come from these pages as of the date shown at the top of the article. Where a source reports a number it got from unnamed people, the text says so.

  1. Axel Springer and Microsoft expand partnership across advertising, AI, content and Azure services (Microsoft News Source, April 2024)
  2. 2024 in review: a timeline of the major deals between publishers and AI companies (Digiday, December 2024)

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About the AI Data Deal Tracker

SellYourAIData tracks publicly reported sales and licenses of data to AI companies, with the price, terms and sources for each. Entries are checked against public reporting and updated as deals change. SellYourAIData was not involved in this deal. To ask what your company's data could sell for, get a free valuation. To report a deal, contact us.