Microsoft on Tuesday discussed new tools aimed at encouraging developers to build artificial intelligence-focused technology into Windows software as it competes with Alphabet, Amazon.com and Apple for dominance in the new field.
At a developer conference in Seattle, CEO Satya Nadella touted new application programming interfaces, or APIs, that make it easier for developers to use Microsoft’s AI technology.
The company said 1.8 million developers now use Github Copilot, Microsoft’s generative AI tool that helps computer programmers be more productive.
“What stands out to me when I look back on the past year is how all of you as developers have taken all of these opportunities and are applying them, frankly, to change the world around us,” Nadella said during his keynote address at the Build conference.
Microsoft has detailed new features for its Copilot AI software that helps business productivity apps like email and its Teams video and text chat product. At its developer conference last week, Alphabet’s Google unveiled a similar series of AI tools to help people with office applications.
Last week, Microsoft released details about its new developer tools.
Microsoft shares rose 1.2 percent to $430.67 on Tuesday afternoon after hitting a record high of $432.97 earlier in the session. Microsoft shares are now up 14 percent in 2024.
Also aimed at developers, Microsoft said last Thursday that it will offer its cloud computing customers a platform of AMD AI chips to compete with Nvidia, whose graphics processing units have become the gold standard for AI computing.
The AMD chip platform created by Microsoft uses a networking technology created by Nvidia called Infiniband to connect processors.
OpenAI’s new GPT4-o model, which runs on Microsoft’s infrastructure, is 12 times cheaper for developers to use in their software than earlier versions of the technology, said Microsoft’s chief technology officer Kevin Scott.
Microsoft is the largest investor in OpenAI and uses some of the AI heavyweight’s technologies in its products.
Microsoft on Monday unveiled a line of Copilot+ PCs with artificial intelligence features such as software that lets users search their past actions in almost any software. The new computers have Arm-based processors made by Qualcomm.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
