The coffee chain is targeting lower software costs as part of a broader turnaround, while Bloomberg reported IBM and Microsoft shares dipped after details of the internal effort emerged.
Starbucks Corp. is developing internal software, aided by artificial intelligence, that could replace some applications it currently buys from Microsoft Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. Internal materials reviewed by Bloomberg News show the company is building alternatives to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for inventory tracking and IBM’s TRIRIGA platform for maintenance management, with some Starbucks-developed products potentially going live by the end of 2027 if testing is successful. The effort is part of a broader push to cut technology spending, as Chief Technology Officer Anand Varadarajan told employees earlier this year that Starbucks spends about $400 million annually on software alone and sees "clear opportunities to reduce the spend in software." Starbucks is also reviewing "every contract and service" and, in some cases, deciding to build products internally when engineers already have to heavily customize vendor software. The company has also been working for several years on a point-of-sale system intended to replace Oracle Simphony, according to people familiar with the matter. The move reflects a wider shift in corporate technology strategy as AI-assisted coding lowers the barriers to building in-house applications, though the savings can be offset over time by higher maintenance and labor costs. Bloomberg reported IBM shares fell in early trading on July 9, 2026, while Microsoft also dipped slightly and Starbucks shares were little changed. TRIRIGA is part of IBM’s Maximo suite, a core revenue driver in its infrastructure management business. Starbucks previously experimented with emerging technology through its Odyssey loyalty program, launched in 2022 on Polygon using NFTs as digital loyalty stamps before being discontinued in March 2024. The current AI software initiative is internal and centralized, with no crypto tokens or blockchain protocols tied to it.