May 28 (Reuters) - Microsoft will unveil a suite of new homegrown AI models next week at its annual "Build" conference for developers in San Francisco, including a coding model to boost the usage of its GitHub Copilot tool, the Information reported on Thursday.
The company is also planning to roll out new models that specialize in tasks such as transcription, reasoning, speech and images, the report said, citing a person with direct knowledge of the plans. Microsoft declined to comment on the report.
Here are some details:
• Microsoft shares climbed on the report, and were last up nearly 3%.
• It has been rushing to beef up its own AI products as it gears up for a future independent of its once-vital partner OpenAI — the companies have changed their partnership terms in recent months to reduce reliance on each other.
• The tech giant has primarily relied on AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Big Tech rival Google to power its GitHub Copilot AI tool for software developers.
• While the tool had seen encouraging uptake initially, products such as Anthropic's Claude Code have quickly risen to the top spot in AI-assisted coding.
• Microsoft is now eyeing AI startup acquisitions, Reuters reported earlier this month, to diversify beyond its OpenAI partnership.
• The potential deals could help Microsoft beef up AI talent and deliver on its stated goal of building a cutting-edge AI model by next year, three sources had told Reuters.
• Market sentiment on Microsoft has soured this year as investors question the viability of its early lead in AI as its OpenAI partnership unravels, while rivals Google and Amazon report strong progress in their own AI efforts.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
