Snowflake, an US based cloud-based data platform specialising in data storage, processing, and analytics, has announced an expanded partnership with Microsoft to integrate OpenAI’s models into Snowflake Cortex AI, its fully managed AI service.
This integration, enabled through Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service in Azure AI Foundry, will allow enterprises to build AI-powered applications and data agents using OpenAI’s models within Snowflake on Microsoft Azure regions.
Christian Kleinerman, EVP of Product at Snowflake, stated,
“We’re expanding our long-standing partnership with Microsoft to deliver the best of OpenAI’s innovations directly to our customers, further advancing our promise to bring easy, efficient, and trusted AI to enterprises around the world.”
The integration provides enterprises with access to OpenAI’s models while maintaining Snowflake’s governance framework and security.
Snowflake’s AI inference capabilities across different cloud regions allow global users to utilise OpenAI’s models without complex integrations.
The partnership also ensures secure connections through Microsoft Azure.
Asha Sharma, CVP, Head of Product at Microsoft AI Platform, said,
“Enterprises are looking to leverage their proprietary data to create AI differentiation in ways that bring the richest experiences to the world, and the Snowflake partnership with Azure OpenAI Service through Azure AI Foundry will empower our joint customers to deliver intuitive and trustworthy app experiences even faster.”
A report from MIT Technology Review Insights found that 59% of respondents identified data governance, security, or privacy as challenges in deploying generative AI.
The integration of OpenAI’s models into Cortex AI addresses these concerns by offering built-in data governance, access controls, and monitoring.
OpenAI’s models will be available on select Microsoft Azure regions in the United States, with plans for global expansion.
Snowflake also offers models from providers such as Anthropic, DeepSeek, Meta, and Mistral, along with its own Arctic open-source models.
Additionally, Snowflake is working with Microsoft to make Snowflake Cortex Agents available in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Teams, expected to launch in June 2025.
This will enable users to interact with Snowflake data in natural language within Microsoft apps, enhancing accessibility and productivity.
Developers will also have access to REST APIs to build secure natural language interfaces between Microsoft 365 applications and Snowflake data.
Featured image credit: edited from freepik
