Microsoft has been instructing engineers engaged on its AI infrastructure to get able to host Elon Musk’s Grok AI mannequin, in line with a trusted supply conversant in the plans. In latest weeks Microsoft has been in discussions with xAI to host the Grok AI mannequin and make it out there to prospects and Microsoft’s personal product groups by the Azure cloud service. The transfer might show controversial internally and additional inflame tensions with Microsoft’s associate OpenAI.
I’m instructed that if the deal proceeds, Grok shall be out there on Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft’s AI improvement platform that provides builders entry to AI companies, instruments, and pre-built fashions as a way to construct AI purposes and brokers. It will permit builders to faucet into Grok and use it inside their apps, and for Microsoft to doubtlessly use the AI mannequin throughout its personal apps and companies. Microsoft refused to remark for this story.
Microsoft has been steadily rising its Azure AI Foundry enterprise over the previous 12 months, and has been fast to embrace fashions from a wide range of AI labs that compete with Microsoft’s associate OpenAI. DeepSeek, the Chinese language startup that shook up the world of AI earlier this 12 months, pressured Microsoft to maneuver shortly to embrace its supercheap R1 mannequin. The DeepSeek deployment on Azure AI Foundry was unusually quick for Microsoft, as I reported beforehand in Notepad, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella transferring with haste to get engineers to check and deploy R1 in a matter of days.
I perceive Nadella has been pushing for Microsoft to host Grok, as he’s anticipating Microsoft to be seen as the internet hosting supplier for any common or rising AI fashions. Microsoft’s Azure AI groups are consistently having to onboard new fashions or procure {hardware} that unlocks much more AI capabilities, in Microsoft’s bid to construct an AI platform and switch AI brokers right into a digital workforce.
“All the methods that we’ve constructed for 50 years want to use to AI brokers,” mentioned Asha Sharma, company vice chairman of Microsoft’s AI platform, in an interview with The Verge final month. “For Azure AI Foundry we’re occupied with how we evolve to change into the working system on the backend of each single agent.”
Making Grok out there to builders by Azure is a part of Microsoft’s objective to change into that essential infrastructure and platform behind AI fashions and AI brokers, however it doesn’t imply AI labs are turning to Microsoft for his or her AI mannequin coaching wants. xAI chief Elon Musk reportedly canceled a possible $10 billion server take care of Oracle final 12 months, and posted on X on the time that xAI could be transferring to coach its future fashions “internally” as an alternative of counting on Oracle servers.
It’s not clear if Microsoft will safe an unique deal on internet hosting the Grok AI mannequin, or whether or not rivals like Amazon can even be capable to host the mannequin. I perceive that Microsoft is taking a look at solely offering capability to host the Grok mannequin, and never the servers for coaching future fashions.
Microsoft’s transfer to host Musk’s Grok AI mannequin might create some stress internally on the firm, notably given his involvement within the controversial Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) venture. Musk has mentioned he’ll step again from his work at DOGE sooner or later this month, and an announcement of Grok on Azure could nicely come at Microsoft’s Construct developer convention on Might nineteenth.
Past DOGE issues, internet hosting Grok might additionally additional inflame tensions in Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI. The ChatGPT maker countersued Musk earlier this month over claims that the Tesla boss is utilizing “bad-faith ways to decelerate OpenAI.” Elon Musk and OpenAI have been in a quite public spat, stemming from Musk’s messy breakup with the AI lab he helped to co-found.
On the identical time, there have been a number of stories of tensions between Microsoft and OpenAI over capability necessities and entry to AI fashions. Simply this week, The Wall Road Journal reported that Nadella and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are “drifting aside,” and that Nadella’s hiring of Mustafa Suleyman final 12 months was an “insurance coverage coverage towards Altman and OpenAI.”
Suleyman and his Microsoft AI group have reportedly been engaged on constructing AI fashions that may compete instantly with OpenAI, however with out a lot success. That’s led to Microsoft persevering with to depend on OpenAI for many of its AI options in Workplace and Copilot. I perceive Microsoft had additionally been anticipating OpenAI’s GPT-5 mannequin this month, however OpenAI’s schedule has been in every single place in latest weeks with delays to new mannequin bulletins and capability points after the success of its upgraded picture technology. It’s now unlikely that GPT-5 will seem this month, I’m instructed.
Internet hosting Grok on Azure is one other clear signal that Microsoft is prepared to look elsewhere for AI fashions. Microsoft-owned GitHub Copilot already helps fashions from Anthropic and Google, along with OpenAI. So, it’s not inconceivable that in the future the principle Copilot can even allow you to decide from a wide range of competing AI fashions, particularly if it helps additional Microsoft’s ambition to change into the primary vacation spot for AI builders and customers.
- Microsoft launches Recall and AI-powered Home windows seek for Copilot Plus PCs. Microsoft has lastly launched Recall, after almost a 12 months of delays. The characteristic, which screenshots nearly every part you do on a Copilot Plus PC, is now out there alongside an improved AI-powered Home windows search interface and a brand new Click on to Do characteristic that’s similar to Google’s Circle to Search. I spent just a few weeks testing Recall final 12 months and located it was creepy, intelligent, and compelling.
- Microsoft is elevating costs on Xbox consoles, controllers, and video games worldwide. Beginning immediately, the worth of an Xbox Sequence S / X console goes up, in addition to controllers. The Xbox Sequence S (512GB) mannequin is transferring from $299.99 to $379.99, a value hike of $80. The Xbox Sequence X (1TB) is rising to $599.99, up $100 from the present $499.99 pricing. Microsoft is even warning that some first-party Xbox video games will improve from $69.99 to $79.99 later this 12 months, however Xbox Sport Move pricing is remaining the identical, for now.
- Home windows 11’s voice typing will quickly allow you to flip off the ****ing profanity filter. Microsoft is altering how the profanity filter for voice typing works on Home windows 11. Quickly you’ll be capable to disable the filter and let all of your nasty swear phrases be free like nature meant. Home windows Insiders can entry a brand new toggle to disable the profanity filter in Dev and Beta Channel builds, which suggests it’ll be out there to all Home windows 11 customers within the coming months.
- As much as 30 p.c of some Microsoft code is now written by AI. Nadella appeared on stage at Meta’s LlamaCon this week to debate the corporate’s use of AI fashions with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “I’d say perhaps 20 to 30 p.c of the code that’s within our repos immediately in a few of our initiatives are in all probability all written by software program,” revealed Nadella. It’s not clear how Microsoft is measuring this or how a lot code is concerned, however it’s much like a declare Google CEO Sundar Pichai made final 12 months.
- Microsoft stories robust cloud progress in Q3 earnings. It’s one other robust quarter for Microsoft on the again of bigger than anticipated cloud progress. Total Microsoft Cloud income reached $42.4 billion, up 20 p.c 12 months over 12 months. Microsoft additionally provided some temporary insights into the tariff scenario, noting that its personal Home windows OEM income progress was partly all the way down to “stock ranges remaining elevated attributable to tariff uncertainty.” Gaming income was up, in addition to Xbox content material and companies, however Xbox {hardware} income was down once more (albeit not as badly as earlier quarters).
- The Maps app for Home windows is disappearing quickly. Microsoft is eradicating the Maps app from the Microsoft Retailer in July, and pushing out an replace that makes it nonfunctional. The Maps app was first unbundled with the 24H2 launch of Home windows 11, so it was solely a matter of time earlier than Microsoft totally killed it off.
- Microsoft Edge is getting safety connectors for companies. Microsoft has constructed a safety framework for its Edge browser that can let companies join it as much as authentication and knowledge loss prevention suppliers. Microsoft has partnered with Cisco, CrowdStrike, Symantec, RSA, and others to launch connectors for Edge.
- Microsoft proclaims new European digital commitments. Microsoft president Brad Smith was in Brussels this week to announce the corporate’s new European commitments. Chief amongst them is a dedication to “uphold Europe’s digital resilience even when there may be geopolitical volatility.” That’s a transparent reference to the Trump administration, and Microsoft is prepared to go to courtroom over it. “Within the unlikely occasion we’re ever ordered by any authorities wherever on this planet to droop or stop cloud operations in Europe, we’re committing that Microsoft will promptly and vigorously contest such a measure utilizing all authorized avenues out there, together with by pursuing litigation in courtroom,” says Smith.
- Towerborne arrives on Xbox. PC gamers have been having fun with early entry to Towerborne on Steam for months now, and this week Xbox gamers now get to check out the looter brawler in Xbox Sport Preview. Stoic has been growing the sport in a partnership with Xbox Sport Studios, and a full free-to-play launch will come after suggestions has helped form the sport to a 1.0 launch.
- Microsoft’s large AI rent can’t match OpenAI. Microsoft’s large push to make Copilot extra pleasant to shoppers hasn’t had a lot success, apparently. Newcomer stories that Copilot has been caught on 20 million weekly customers over the previous 12 months. This has reportedly put strain on Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, who joined the corporate final 12 months, to show issues round. Microsoft AI can be reportedly growing its personal AI fashions to scale back the reliance on OpenAI, however coaching runs haven’t gone nicely.
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