Microsoft promotes new tools for creating AI software

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled new tools aimed at encouraging developers to build artificial intelligence-based technology into Windows software in a race with Alphabet, Amazon.com and Apple for dominance in the emerging field.

At a developer conference in Seattle, CEO Satya Nadella promoted new application programming interfaces, or APIs, that make it easier for developers to use Microsoft’s artificial intelligence technology.

The company said 1.8 million developers are currently using Github Copilot, Microsoft’s generative artificial intelligence tool that helps developers become more productive.

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“When I look back on the past year, what stands out to me is how all of you, as developers, have taken all of these opportunities and, quite frankly, are applying them to change the world around us,” Nadella said during his keynote speech at the conference Build.

Microsoft detailed new features for Copilot AI software that powers business productivity applications such as email and its Teams video and text calling product. Last week at a developer conference, Alphabet-owned Google unveiled a similar batch of AI tools intended to help people using office applications.

Last week, Microsoft announced 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 currently up 14 percent in 2024.

Also aimed at developers, Microsoft said last Thursday that it will offer its cloud computing customers an AMD AI chip platform that will compete with Nvidia, whose graphics processors have become the gold standard in artificial intelligence processing.

AMD’s Microsoft-built chip platform uses Nvidia’s networking technology called Infiniband to connect processors together.

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OpenAI’s new GPT4-o model, which runs on Microsoft infrastructure, is 12 times cheaper for developers to use in their software than earlier versions of the technology, Microsoft chief technology officer Kevin Scott said.

Microsoft is the largest investor in OpenAI and uses some of the AI ​​technology in its own products.

Microsoft on Monday unveiled its Copilot+ line of personal computers with artificial intelligence features, such as software that allows users to search past actions in almost any software. The new computers are equipped with processors based on Qualcomm’s ARM architecture.