Microsoft is developing proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) reasoning models to reduce reliance on OpenAI’s technology, according to a report by The Information.
The company is testing models from xAI, Meta, and DeepSeek as potential alternatives for its Microsoft 365 Copilot product.
Led by Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s AI division has trained a series of models known internally as MAI. These models reportedly perform comparably to leading models from OpenAI and Anthropic on standard benchmarks.
The team is experimenting with integrating MAI models into Copilot and considering releasing them as an application programming interface (API) for external developers later this year.
This initiative aligns with Microsoft’s strategy to diversify its AI capabilities and reduce costs associated with third-party models.
In December, Reuters reported that Microsoft was working to integrate internal and third-party AI models into its 365 Copilot software suite, aiming to decrease dependence on OpenAI’s GPT-4 model.