Microsoft unveils new AI models and Windows improvements in Build

Microsoft is heading to San Francisco this week in an attempt to win back developers at its Build conference. I’ve been attending Build since Microsoft called it their professional developers conference, and I can’t remember a more important moment. As Microsoft continues to pivot its entire business around AI, it’s moving Build to a smaller, more intimate setting. Trust in Windows and GitHub is at an all-time low, and this is Microsoft’s opportunity to reconnect with developers and define the future.

Sources tell me we’ll hear about new AI models in Windows, a new Microsoft AI thinking model, and a Copilot “super app.” But perhaps more importantly for Build attendees, I understand that Microsoft will reveal more about its work on improving the Windows experience for developers. I’ve been told that Microsoft will unveil a new developer experience for Windows 11 this week, which includes many of the things developers ask for in Windows: a distraction-free environment with pre-installed apps, tools, and scripts.

I also expect to hear more about Microsoft’s efforts to rewrite parts of Windows 11 to improve performance and the overall experience. Microsoft identified her Plan to repair Windows 11 earlier this year, and we’re starting to see a lot of early improvements already. The Windows Insider team is preparing to showcase more customization changes Later todaybefore tomorrow’s construction keynote.

Microsoft will also have more news on how Windows will adapt to new silicon like Nvidia’s RTX Spark. I’m told there will be a greater focus on on-premises models running on Windows at Build this year, allowing developers to take advantage of on-premises compute rather than relying on expensive cloud models. Windows President Pavan Davuluri teased last week “There’s something new coming for developers” at Build, so I expect to hear more about Microsoft’s next generation of leaner AI models. RTX Spark mini PCs from Microsoft and HP were also there Noticeably absent At a group of OEMs during Nvidia’s Computex keynote, so perhaps there’s something else on the way.

While Satya Nadella will discuss the new RTX Spark announcement with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during his keynote, I also expect to hear from Qualcomm about its ongoing work with Microsoft to develop Windows on Arm. Qualcomm and Microsoft laid most of the groundwork for Arm’s improvements in Windows 11, allowing Nvidia to return to Windows on Arm after a rocky start with the Surface RT. Microsoft now has to balance the two major Arm silicon providers, just as it has done to keep AMD and Intel happy over the decades.

Sources tell me we’ll also hear about Microsoft’s latest internal models at Build this week. I’m told Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleiman will unveil the new MAI-Thinking-1 model at Build, the company’s first thinking model. Microsoft did not use distillation to create its inference model, meaning it was not trained by learning from the output of another AI model. I expect this model of thinking to be primarily aimed at enterprise use.

The inference model is one of several new models I expect to hear about in Build, including MAI-Image-2.5 and MAI-Image-2.5-Flash. Solomon teased MAI-Image-2.5 was released last week, and promises more in Build.

Microsoft will also discuss Copilot’s upcoming “super app” at Build. luck First reported last week, it’s essentially an app that brings together various Microsoft Copilot AI assistants into a single interface. Sources told me that work is underway to create the app, but the leaked screenshot suggests so It showed up on Friday It is just a mockup made for Microsoft Build demos.

The image also includes an early look at Microsoft Scout, which is said to be a new AI agent based on Microsoft’s OpenClaw work. This Copilot super app won’t be available in Build even though Microsoft is still in the process of building it, so I don’t expect to see it in preview until late summer.

I also hope we hear a lot about the improvements to GitHub in Build this week. Last month I wrote that GitHub is facing a battle for survival At Microsoft, after a wave of departures, outages and security incidents. Microsoft desperately needs to regain GitHub’s trust here, especially since prominent developers are starting to sound the alarm. There’s no quick and easy fix, but since Build is maintained by some members of the GitHub team, Microsoft can’t ignore the issues you’re facing here.

We’ll be covering all the news from Microsoft Build this week, so stay tuned for plenty of coverage when the conference starts at 9:30 AM PT / 12:30 PM ET on Tuesday, June 2.