PLDT’s mobile arm Smart Communications announced at Mobile World Congress 2025 on Thursday it is collaborating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to power Smart’s strategy to boost customer experiences with AI-powered applications.
Under the deal, Smart will use AWS’s services to unify its data platform and enable advanced analytics and machine learning (ML) to process the petabytes of data Smart is sitting on to create more personalised services.
Smart said that transitioning to a cloud-based platform using AWS and Databricks will accelerate its time-to-market and improve operational efficiency.
Smart COO Anastacio “Boy” Martirez said the long-term partnership with AWS will enable it to transform itself into an AI-driven telco via strategic partnerships.
“We don’t want a piecemeal approach to AI,” Martirez said in a statement. “This is why we’re developing what we call a ‘Center for Acceleration’ of AI. We plan to gather all the best minds in AI, and this partnership with AWS is a big step towards that direction. It will give us first-hand access not just to the expertise of our partners from AWS, but also to the entirety of their generative AI services.”
“Data is the fuel that powers AI and many companies are sitting on treasure troves of data. Our goal is to help our customers unlock data intelligence – AI tailored to the organization’s unique data to solve domain-specific business challenges,” said Cecily Ng, VP and GM of ASEAN and Greater China for Databricks. “Together, we will deliver more value to all of Smart's customers with real-time insights to meet their business needs.”
Smart and parent company PLDT have already dabbled in AI, having launched several generative AI use cases to deliver real-time, personalized telco promotions, manage customer comments, address data privacy queries, and provide customer support, among other things.
