Microsoft sees a bright future in autonomous vehicles, but unlike tech rivals Apple and Google, it won't build a car of its own.
Business development chief Peggy Johnson told the Converge technology conference in Hong Kong last week that Microsoft officials talked with "seven or eight" automakers about their tech needs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The discussions, Johnson said, included potential automotive applications for the Windows operating system, the Office 365 software suite or the Azure cloud platform.
(AP Photo)Johnson said that instead of designing an entire vehicle operating system, automakers generally bring a "specific focus" to Microsoft. She mentioned the possibility of enabling commuters to work in their cars as they autonomously go to and from their offices.
“We in different ways enabled a variety of different partners and you’ll see us continuing to do that,” Johnson said.
Microsoft earlier this year announced a partnership with Ford to implement a cloud system on the Azure platform.
In addition, the Journal reported in April that a consortium of German automakers discussed a stake in an advanced mapping system with Microsoft, as well as Amazon.com, in part due to concerns about sharing data with Apple or Google.
