Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) has launched three new artificial intelligence models seen as a direct shot at AI heavyweights OpenAI and Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL). Mustafa Suleyman, its AI chief, also told Bloomberg that the company is racing to deliver its own state-of-the-art AI models sometime in 2027.
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‘Better, Faster, and Cheaper’
The new models are:
- MAI-Transcribe-1, which is tailored for speech-to-text transcription
- MAI-Voice-1, which was first previewed last August and is designed for voice generation. It offers customers the ability to create their own custom voice and voice agents
- MAI-Image-2, which was first unveiled last month and is designed for image generation.
Microsoft said the new models are “better, faster, and cheaper than our competitors.” The company has rolled out the models on its Foundry platform, where enterprises build and run AI apps, as well as the MAI Playground for testing AI models.
Microsoft Doubles Down on AI Push
The launch comes just as Microsoft’s stock suffered its worst quarterly performance since the 2008 financial crisis, with investors worried about the tech giant’s AI capital expenditure, future Azure cloud services growth, and slower-than-expected adoption of its Copilot AI assistant.
It also comes as Microsoft has been pushing to reduce its reliance on OpenAI’s AI models for Copilot and has been pressing forward with efforts to develop its own AI models. Last month, the tech company implemented a shakeup of its AI leadership team, with Suleyman tasked with focusing entirely on the company’s AI model development.
Although Microsoft’s shares have declined by over 23% since the start of the year, analysts on Wall Street have continued to reaffirm their Buy rating on the stock, noting that the company is acting with a “sense of urgency” and remains a leader in AI.
Is Microsoft Stock Expected to Rise?
Across Wall Street, Microsoft’s shares continue to enjoy a Strong Buy consensus rating from analysts. This is based on 34 Buys and three Holds issued over the past three months.
Moreover, the average MSFT price target of $582.17 implies about 57% upside from current trading levels.
