Microsoft's new AI model 'MAI-1' in works to take on Google, OpenAI

Microsoft is developing a large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) language model, to compete with Google and OpenAI, according to The Information.

The model is being overseen by Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Google DeepMind and former CEO of AI startup Inflection, according to the report citing information from two Microsoft employees familiar with the project.

The reports said that the tech giant could preview the new model at its Build developer conference later this month. However, the purpose of the model is yet to be determined and will depend on how well it performs.

The report also suggests that MAI-1 will be "far larger" than the previous smaller, open source models trained earlier by Microsoft, making the new model more expensive.

Last month, the Big Tech company launched a smaller AI model called Phi-3-mini in a bid to attract a wider client base with cost-effective options.

Additionally, the company has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and deployed the ChatGPT maker's technology across its suite of productivity software, allowing it to take an early lead in the generative AI race.

The report further said that Microsoft has been allocating a sizable cluster of servers fitted with Nvidia's graphic processing units in addition to copious amounts of data to enhance the model.

According to the report, MAI-1 will have roughly 500 billion parameters, compared one trillion for OpenAI's GPT-4 and 3.8 billion parameters for Phi-3 mini.