Microsoft unveils seven MAI models including MAI-Code-1 and MAI-Thinking-1 to take on Anthropic and Google

At its Build conference Microsoft introduced MAI-Code-1, a model designed to generate source code from written prompts; the model is available through GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio Code. The company also announced MAI-Thinking-1, a reasoning-focused model optimized for lower token costs and offered in private preview via Microsoft Foundry ^[1].

The release is part of a broader rollout of seven new MAI models led by CEO Mustafa Suleyman, reflecting Microsoft’s push to expand proprietary offerings for developers and enterprise customers ^[2].

Microsoft claimed its flagship reasoning and image systems outperform rivals including Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Nano Banana, and coverage framed the launches as a direct challenge to Anthropic’s growing enterprise presence ^{[3] [4]}.

Microsoft says it will continue building more in-house AI models while remaining partnered with external providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic, signaling a dual strategy of internal development and selective collaboration for enterprise AI ^{[1] [4]}.