Microsoft — AI News & Coverage
Microsoft is the largest investor in OpenAI and integrates AI across Azure, Office, GitHub Copilot, and Windows. Building in-house frontier models through Microsoft Foundry.
Latest News
Microsoft's terms of service classify Copilot as 'for entertainment purposes only'
TechCrunch reports that Microsoft's own terms of service explicitly classify Copilot as being 'for entertainment purposes only,' raising questions about enterprise reliability claims. The legal disclaimer undercuts Microsoft's marketing of Copilot as a productivity tool and has implications for liability if businesses depend on its outputs.
Iran's IRGC publishes satellite imagery of OpenAI's $30B Stargate datacenter, threatens 'annihilation'
Iran's IRGC released satellite imagery pinpointing OpenAI's 1-gigawatt Stargate datacenter in Abu Dhabi, with leadership threatening its 'complete and utter annihilation.' The video named American CEOs from OpenAI, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Goldman Sachs, escalating from earlier April 1 threats against 18 tech companies.
Microsoft launches 3 in-house MAI foundation models in direct challenge to OpenAI and Google
Microsoft unveiled MAI-Transcribe-1, MAI-Voice-1, and MAI-Image-2 through Azure Foundry—its first in-house foundation models from Mustafa Suleyman's superintelligence team. MAI-Transcribe-1 covers 25 languages at 50% lower GPU costs and 2.5x faster than Azure Fast, signaling Microsoft's push for AI self-sufficiency beyond OpenAI.
Device code phishing attacks surge 37x in 2026, hitting 340+ Microsoft 365 orgs across five countries
Device code phishing attacks abusing the OAuth 2.0 Device Authorization Grant have surged 37x this year, with the EvilTokens phishing kit democratizing the technique for low-skilled attackers. Over 340 organizations across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany have been targeted since February 2026.
Iran strikes leave AWS availability zones hard down in Bahrain and Dubai; Dubai denies Oracle data center hit
Dubai authorities denied IRGC claims of striking an Oracle data center, calling reports fabricated, even as AWS availability zones in Bahrain and UAE remain degraded from prior Iranian drone strikes. Iran has named 18 US tech firms including Nvidia, Google, and Microsoft as potential targets, claiming US military AI systems are hosted on their infrastructure.
AI companies building massive natural gas plants: Microsoft/Chevron plan 5GW in Texas, Google/Crusoe 933MW
Microsoft announced a partnership with Chevron and Engine No. 1 to build a natural gas power plant in West Texas that could grow to 5 gigawatts. Google confirmed a 933MW plant with Crusoe in North Texas. The projects underscore AI's enormous energy demands as a poll found 65% of Americans oppose data centers in their communities.
Microsoft Copilot Researcher adds multi-model Critique and Council modes pairing GPT with Claude
Microsoft 365 Copilot Researcher now pairs OpenAI GPT and Anthropic Claude in two new modes: Critique has one model draft while the other reviews for accuracy, and Council runs both models simultaneously with a third AI judging where they agree and diverge. Microsoft reports a 13.8% improvement on its DRACO benchmark.
Microsoft launches three in-house MAI models in direct challenge to OpenAI
Microsoft released MAI-Transcribe-1, MAI-Voice-1, and MAI-Image-2 — three foundational models for speech transcription, voice synthesis, and image generation. Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman says the company plans to reach frontier-scale LLM capability later in 2026, after contractual restrictions with OpenAI were lifted in October 2025.
Microsoft commits $10B to Japan AI infrastructure over four years in deal with SoftBank and Sakura Internet
Microsoft unveiled a $10B four-year Japan investment covering AI data centers, cybersecurity partnerships, and a goal to train 1M engineers by 2030. Partners SoftBank and Sakura Internet will supply GPUs — Sakura's stock jumped 20% on the news.
Gemini 3.1 Pro leads 13 of 16 major benchmarks while Claude Sonnet 4.6 tops real-world work evals
Google's Gemini 3.1 Pro leads 13 of 16 major benchmarks and ties GPT-5.4 Pro on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index at one-third the API cost. Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4.6 leads GDPval-AA Elo for expert-level work and powers GitHub Copilot's coding agent.
Microsoft launches three foundational AI models, building frontier capabilities in-house
Microsoft released MAI-Transcribe-1, MAI-Voice-1, and MAI-Image-2 through Microsoft Foundry, signaling in-house frontier model ambitions rivaling OpenAI by 2027.
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