
Microsoft is accelerating its push to compete with OpenAI, its longtime collaborator, by developing its own powerful AI models and exploring alternatives to power products like Microsoft’s Copilot bot.
According to reports, Microsoft has developed its own AI “reasoning” models comparable to models like OpenAI’s o1 and o3-mini. It is claimed that OpenAI has refused Microsoft’s requests for technical details about how o1 works, which may have contributed to the tensions between the firms.
In addition, Microsoft is said to be developing a family of models called MAI that are competitive with OpenAI’s own offerings, and is reportedly considering offering them through an API later this year. This move would allow Microsoft to leverage its own AI capabilities in various applications and products.
The company is also exploring alternative AI models from xAI, Meta, Anthropic, and DeepSeek as possible replacements for OpenAI technology in Copilot. Microsoft’s efforts to develop its own AI models and explore alternatives are likely a response to the growing popularity of OpenAI’s language model-based tools, such as ChatGPT.
Microsoft has been investing heavily in OpenAI since 2019, having pumped around $14 billion into the company so far. However, it appears that the tech giant is seeking to diversify its options and reduce its reliance on a single provider.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/07/microsoft-reportedly-ramps-up-ai-efforts-to-compete-with-openai/