Microsoft Promotes New Tools for Making AI-Focussed Windows Software

Microsoft said 1.8 million developers are now using Github Copilot, Microsoft's generative AI tool that helps computer programmers be more productive.

Updated: 22 May 2024 16:00 IST

Photo Credit: Reuters

On Monday, Microsoft debuted a line of Copilot+ personal computers with AI features

Highlights

Microsoft detailed new features for its Copilot AI software
Google also unveiled a similar batch of AI tools last week
Satya Nadella promoted the new tools at a developer conference in Seattle

Microsoft talked up new tools on Tuesday aimed at encouraging programmers to build AI-focused technology into Windows software as it races against Alphabet, Amazon.com and Apple to dominate the emerging field.

At a developer conference in Seattle, Chief Executive Satya Nadella promoted new application programming interfaces, or APIs, that make it easier for developers to tap in to AI technology offered by Microsoft.

The company said 1.8 million developers are now using Github Copilot, Microsoft's generative AI tool that helps computer programmers be more productive.

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"What stands out to me as I look back at this past year, is how you all as developers have taken all of these capabilities and are applying them, quite frankly, to change the world around us," Nadella said during his keynote address at the Build conference.

Microsoft detailed new features for its Copilot AI software that helps business productivity applications such as email and its Teams video and text chat product. At its developer conference last week, Alphabet's Google unveiled a similar batch of AI tools to help people with office applications.

Microsoft announced details of its new developer tools last week.

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Shares of Microsoft were up 1.2 percent at $430.67 on Tuesday afternoon after hitting a record high of $432.97 earlier in the session. Microsoft's stock has now gained 14 percent in 2024.

Also aimed at developers, Microsoft said last Thursday it would offer its cloud computing customers a platform of AMD AI chips that will compete with Nvidia, whose graphics processing units have become the gold standard for AI computing.

The platform of AMD chips created by Microsoft uses networking technology made by Nvidia called Infiniband to string the processors together.

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, Microsoft's chief technology officer Kevin Scott said.

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

On Monday, Microsoft debuted a line of Copilot+ personal computers with AI features such as software that lets users search through their past actions in nearly any software. The new computers feature Arm-based processors made by Qualcomm.

From the launch of the Infinix GT 10 Pro to Amazon's latest mega-sale, we discuss the most noteworthy technology news events of the week on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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