Microsoft forced AI on consumers whether they wanted it or not. Given how aggressively the company is incorporating AI into its products, you might be surprised to learn that it doesn’t use its own AI. It took OpenAI’s technology, bundled it into Copilot and Teams, and called it a day.
But things are changing. Whether the company noticed the public’s negative reaction to its bloated Windows 11 operating system or saw Linux gaining market share in the gaming space, Microsoft is finally working to introduce a calmer Windows 11 and focus on developing its own AI models.
As Bloomberg reports, Mustafa Suleiman, CEO of Microsoft AI, made the goal clear: “The goal is certainly to be really at the cutting edge by 2027,” with models that can handle text, images and audio.
What stopped Microsoft from doing this sooner?
A contract. Microsoft’s deal with OpenAI has previously prevented the company from developing its own, widely applicable AI models. That clause was removed last year as part of a renegotiated agreement, giving Microsoft the freedom to operate independently.
The company isn’t starting from scratch either. In October, Microsoft began using a cluster of Nvidia GB200 chips to build the computing power needed for top-level AI development. As for the timeline, “We’re kind of going into overdrive in the next 12 to 18 months to get to borderline computing power,” Suleyman said.
What does this mean for you?
The first sign of that push is here. Microsoft has released a speech transcription model that outperforms competing products in 11 of the 25 most widely spoken languages. It’s designed to handle noisy environments and will soon be rolling out to Teams and other Microsoft apps.
The bigger picture is that Microsoft is aiming for long-term AI self-sufficiency. CEO Satya Nadella reiterated that message this week, emphasizing the importance of building cutting-edge models over the next three to five years.
For everyday users, more competition in AI means better, smarter tools built into the apps you use. On the other hand, this also means that another large company is exponentially increasing the purchase of GPUs and RAM, which will drive up the prices of consumer RAM, GPUs and SSDs even further.
