From Project Solara to MAI Thinking-1, Microsoft revealed five major AI announcements at Build 2026 as it ramps up competition with OpenAI and Anthropic.
Satya Nadella-led Microsoft has announced a series of major AI updates at its Build 2026 developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. The company introduced custom AI models and specialised hardware. These announcements come at a time when Anthropic and OpenAI are going big on AI and expanding the technology across multiple businesses. Here are five big AI updates from Microsoft.
1. Microsoft Brings AI-First Devices Under Project Solara
The tech giant announced Project Solar. Under this project, the company plans to bring a new family of AI-focused prototype devices. Unlike traditional smartphones and computers that usually depend on apps, these devices are set to run AI agents that communicate with cloud systems to execute specific tasks.
Moreover, the company said the devices may come in various forms, including smart speaker-sized gadgets and badge-like wearables.
2. New Nvidia-Powered Surface RTX Spark Dev Box
Microsoft introduced the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, a new desktop computer which is powered by Nvidia’s RTX Spark chip. Nadella described the device as a ‘dream machine’ during his keynote session.
As per Reuters, the company had demonstrated the device running a massive AI model with 120 billion parameters locally, showcasing how next-gen PCs could handle advanced AI workloads that are currently limited to data centres or high-end systems.
3. Scout AI Agent Comes To Copilot
The company introduced Scout. It is a new AI agent that is going to be part of Copilot. This agent will assist users by collecting emails, messages and other data that need attention, helping them make decisions faster. Scout can be termed a strong competitor to Anthropic’s Claude Cowork that can actively perform tasks on behalf of humans.
4. MAI Thinking-1 Takes On Frontier AI Models
Interestingly, Microsoft plans to take on OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 AI models. The company announced its MAI Thinking-1, its first AI reading-focused model. The tech giant mentioned that the model can deliver performance comparable to some of the industry’s most advanced reasoning systems. It also revealed a new transcription and an image-generation model to compete with major AI players.
