Microsoft unveiled a mid‑class AI model on Thursday, with AI chief Mustafa Suleyman calling it the most advanced of its kind. The launch marks a push to shrink dependence on OpenAI and to compete with Anthropic, Google and OpenAI’s own offerings. By targeting the “mid‑class” segment, the firm hopes to capture customers seeking a balance of cost and capability.

Suleyman admitted Microsoft cannot yet train the largest‑scale models, citing current compute bottlenecks in its cloud fleet. He said a ramp‑up later this year