Microsoft MAI-1 Preview Released
Narrative
First foundation model trained end-to-end in-house. Reduces OpenAI dependence. Trained on 15,000 H100s. Cost-efficient alternative.
Reality
Model testing on LMArena. Rolling out to Copilot for text use cases. Performance competitive but not frontier. Strategic hedge against OpenAI.
Implication
Microsoft reduced single-vendor risk. MAI-1 plus Anthropic partnership diversified model sources. But still dependent on OpenAI for frontier capabilities. Multi-model strategy emerged.