Microsoft · TechCrunch AI
Microsoft AI, the tech giant’s research lab, announced the release of three foundational AI models on Thursday that can generate
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The release signals Microsoft’s continued push to build out its own stack of multimodal AI models — and compete with rival AI labs, even though it remains tied to OpenAI.
Key facts
- MAI-Transcribe-1 transcribes speech across 25 different languages into text and is 2.5 times faster than Microsoft’s Azure Fast offering, according to a company press release
- MAI-Image-2 was originally released on MAI Playground, a new large language model testing software, on March 19
- The models were developed by Microsoft’s MAI Superintelligence team, an AI research team led by Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, that was formed and announced in November 2025
- Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion into the AI research lab and hosts its models in its various products through a multi-year partnership
Summary
Microsoft AI, the tech giant’s research lab, announced the release of three foundational AI models on Thursday that can generate text, voice, and images. MAI-Transcribe-1 transcribes speech across 25 different languages into text and is 2.5 times faster than Microsoft’s Azure Fast offering, according to a company press release. MAI-Image-2 was originally released on MAI Playground, a new large language model testing software, on March 19. The models were developed by Microsoft’s MAI Superintelligence team, an AI research team led by Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, that was formed and announced in November 2025.