Microsoft is set to enhance its artificial intelligence marketplace by incorporating models developed by Elon Musk’s xAI.
The Grok 3 model, which xAI unveiled earlier this year, is now accessible through Microsoft’s cloud-computing platform, the company announced on Monday.
Microsoft, along with its major competitors in the cloud computing sector such as Amazon and Google, is striving to become the premier platform for developing and deploying AI applications. This competitive landscape has resulted in an ongoing race to host the most advanced models while establishing robust management controls for their use.
Customers using Microsoft’s Azure cloud service can now access over 1,900 variants of AI models, which also include offerings from OpenAI, Meta Platforms, and DeepSeek. The integration of Musk’s models broadens this selection; however, significant models from Alphabet’s Google and the rapidly emerging AI startup Anthropic are still missing from the platform.
During the kickoff of Build, Microsoft’s annual developer conference, many announcements focused on innovations designed to help manage AI agents—tools created for users to automate tasks. Microsoft revealed that Windows and other products would support Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol, a standard intended to regulate interactions among AI systems.
“For agents to reach their full potential, they need to communicate seamlessly with everything globally,” stated Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott on Sunday at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Additionally, Microsoft and its GitHub coding platform subsidiary joined the steering committee for the MCP.
Through substantial investments in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, Microsoft has positioned itself as a frontrunner in AI tools. The company is integrating AI functionalities across its products for businesses and developers, banking on the belief that these intelligent systems will significantly offset the billions invested in data centers and server infrastructure.
Microsoft also launched several tools aimed at providing developers and businesses with better insight and resources for generative AI. This includes a leader board showcasing top-performing models, a tool to assist developers in selecting the most appropriate model for specific tasks, and new offerings for companies aspiring to create their own AI models using proprietary data.
Both xAI’s Grok 3 and Grok 3 mini will be made available through Microsoft’s Azure AI Foundry. These models will also support a chatbot integrated into X, Musk’s social media platform, which recently became controversial for propagating a conspiracy theory related to “white genocide” in South Africa. XAI later clarified that “unauthorized modifications” had occurred with Grok’s chatbot and pledged to improve transparency concerning the prompts controlling the software.
During Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella’s keynote address at the conference, Musk joined virtually, expressing his eagerness for feedback on the Grok AI models. “We will make mistakes, but we aspire to rectify them promptly,” Musk remarked.
The keynote also faced interruptions from protesters shortly after it began. Last month, Microsoft terminated two employees who disrupted an event to voice concerns regarding the company’s collaboration with the Israeli government.
In January, Microsoft announced that its AI suite, encompassing cloud infrastructure and AI applications, was projected to generate at least $13 billion in annual revenue.
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