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Microsoft Pledges Deeper European Tech Ties amidst Sovereignty Debate
Microsoft's five digital commitments aim to bolster Europe's tech landscape and sovereignty through a 40% cloud and AI infrastructure expansion, enhanced cybersecurity, and a robust data privacy framework. By establishing a "European cloud for Europe," Microsoft reinforces its dedication to digital resilience while fostering economic competitiveness and supporting the open-source community.
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Microsoft Native 1-Bit LLM Could Bring Efficient genAI to Everyday CPUs
In a recent paper, Microsoft researchers described BitNet b1.58 2B4T, the first LLM to be natively trained using "1-bit" (technically, 1-trit) weights, rather than being quantized from a model trained with floating point weights. According to Microsoft, the model delivers performance comparable to full-precision LLMs of similar size at a fraction of the computation cost and hardware requirements.
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Azure Container Apps Serverless GPUs Reach General Availability with NVIDIA NIM Support
Azure has launched Serverless GPUs for Azure Container Apps, enabling scalable, on-demand execution of AI workloads using NVIDIA A100 and T4 GPUs. This groundbreaking feature supports NVIDIA NIM microservices, simplifying deployment and management while optimizing costs. Developers can focus on applications, as Azure manages infrastructure, offering a flexible solution for diverse AI scenarios.
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Azure AI Foundry Supports NVIDIA NIM and AgentIQ for AI Agents
Microsoft and NVIDIA have teamed up to integrate NVIDIA NIM microservices and AgentIQ into Azure AI Foundry, streamlining AI agent application development. This partnership accelerates project lifecycles, optimizing performance and reducing costs. The toolkit enhances AI efficiency through real-time telemetry, enabling effortless deployment and advanced functionalities for developers.
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Microsoft Officially Supports Rust on Azure with First SDK Beta
Microsoft's beta release of the Azure SDK for Rust empowers developers to seamlessly connect with Azure services. Featuring libraries for Identity, Key Vault, Event Hubs, and Cosmos DB, this initiative underscores Rust's growing significance in high-performance applications. As Microsoft enhances the SDK, it aims to deliver a robust and user-friendly developer experience.
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Azure Database for MySQL Trigger for Azure Functions in Public Preview
Microsoft's Azure Database for MySQL now features a public preview of triggers for Azure Functions, enabling real-time data processing with event-driven automation. This innovative integration allows developers to track table changes seamlessly, enhancing analytics, compliance, and security, while scaling efficiently within Azure's serverless framework.
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Microsoft Enhances Azure Elastic SAN with Auto Scale, Snapshot Support, and CRC Protection
Microsoft's Azure Elastic SAN, launched in early 2024, revolutionizes cloud block storage with unique autoscale capabilities, snapshot support, and CRC protection for enhanced data integrity. This fully managed solution simplifies storage management and optimizes costs, making it ideal for businesses seeking efficient, high-availability solutions in the cloud.
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Azure AI Foundry Labs: a hub for the Latest AI Research and Experiments at Microsoft
Microsoft's Azure AI Foundry Labs revolutionizes AI development by bridging cutting-edge research with real-world applications. Offering experimental projects like Aurora and MatterSim empowers developers to prototype new technologies. With tools for dynamic learning and multimodal models, Azure Labs accelerates innovation and collaboration.
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Microsoft Releases BioEmu-1: a Deep Learning Model for Protein Structure Prediction
Microsoft Research has introduced BioEmu-1, a deep-learning model designed to predict the range of structural conformations that proteins can adopt. Unlike traditional methods that provide a single static structure, BioEmu-1 generates structural ensembles, offering a broader view of protein dynamics.
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Microsoft Launches Visual Studio 2022 v17.13 with AI-Powered Enhancements and Improved Debugging
Microsoft has released Visual Studio 2022 v17.13, introducing significant improvements in AI-assisted development, debugging, productivity, and cloud integration. This update focuses on refining workflows, enhancing code management, and improving the overall developer experience.
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Microsoft Unveils the First Topological Quantum Chip Majorana 1
Microsoft's Majorana 1 is the world's first Quantum Processing Unit (QPU), utilizing innovative Topological Core architecture. By harnessing topoconductors and Majorana particles, it promises scalable, reliable qubits for quantum computing. This breakthrough could revolutionize industries, particularly healthcare, solving complex challenges at unprecedented scales.
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Azure AI Agent Service Now in Public Preview for Developers in AI Foundry SDK and Portal
Introducing the Azure AI Agent Service: a groundbreaking platform that empowers developers to design, deploy, and manage intelligent AI agents seamlessly integrated within the Microsoft ecosystem. Automate tasks, access real-time data, and monitor performance, all while benefiting from easy setup and advanced orchestration. Transform your business with AI-driven efficiency and innovation.
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Microsoft Introduces CoRAG: Enhancing AI Retrieval with Iterative Reasoning
Microsoft AI has introduced Chain-of-Retrieval Augmented Generation (CoRAG), a new AI framework designed to enhance Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) models. Unlike traditional RAG systems, which rely on a single retrieval step, CoRAG enables iterative search and reasoning, allowing AI models to refine their retrievals dynamically before generating answers.
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OpenAI Features New o3-mini Model on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service
OpenAI has launched the advanced o3-mini model via Microsoft Azure, enhancing AI applications with improved cost efficiency, faster performance, and adjustable reasoning capabilities. Designed for complex tasks, it supports structured outputs and backward compatibility. With widespread access, the o3-mini empowers developers to drive innovation across various industries.
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Microsoft Phi-4 is a Small Language Model Specialized for Complex Math Reasoning
Phi-4 is 14B parameter model from Microsoft Research that aims to improve the state of the art for math reasoning. Previously available on Azure AI Foundry, Phi-4 has recently become available on Hugging Face under the MIT license.