Microsoft is rolling out its first internally developed AI models. Branded Microsoft AI (MAI), the two initial releases are MAI-Voice-1, a “highly expressive and natural speech generation model,” and MAI-1-preview, a mixture-of-experts LLM designed for consumer facing applications. The move demonstrates Microsoft’s intent to move beyond exclusive reliance on OpenAI models to power its Copilot assistant and other applications. By striking out on its own, Microsoft is paving a smoother road for OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit entity, which the company is scheduled to initiate by the end of the year.

Competitors of the Redmond-based software giant that are potential OpenAI customers, like Oracle, will likely welcome more breathing room between the two companies.

Microsoft’s $13 billion-plus investment in OpenAI, extending over several cycles starting in 2019, gives it privileged access to its technology and a hefty stake in any profits through at least 2030, so it has a vested interest in helping the startup to a position of strength.

It doesn’t hurt to have a portfolio of internally developed foundation models and $100 million in profit for its most recent fiscal year.

“Microsoft already uses MAI-Voice-1 to power a couple of its features, including Copilot Daily, which has an AI host recite the day’s top news stories, and to generate podcast-style discussions to help explain topics,” The Verge reports, adding that MA1-Voice-1 is available to try at Copilot Labs, “where you can enter what you want the AI model to say, as well as change its voice and style of speaking.”

“Voice is the interface of the future for AI companions and MAI-Voice-1 delivers high-fidelity, expressive audio across both single and multi-speaker scenarios,” Microsoft explains in a news post.

MAI-1-preview was pre- and post-trained on more than 15,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, according to Microsoft explains, noting it was designed to benefit consumers seeking “models that specialize in following instructions and providing helpful responses to everyday queries.”

Microsoft has begun public testing of MAI-1-preview on LMArena. The company says it is also making the model “available to trusted testers,” who can apply for API access. It will also come online “for certain text use cases within Copilot over the coming weeks,” as the company gathers user feedback.

CNBC reports “Microsoft remains a key backer of OpenAI and strategic partner to the AI startup that’s now valued at about $500 billion.”

Related:
Microsoft 365 August Updates : Smarter Emails, Easier Meetings, Better Security and More, Geeky Gadgets, 9/2/25