--- title: "AI Strategy May Shift: Report Says Microsoft Considers Supporting \"Open-Weight\" AI Models Amid Rise of Chinese AI" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/294385669.md" description: "Mustafa Suleiman, head of Microsoft AI, stated that Microsoft is considering releasing some of its self-developed artificial intelligence models as \"open-weight\" models, aiming to reduce its reliance on OpenAI. He also noted that large AI models will be widely consumed across all industries and verticals, leading to an explosive growth in inference demand" datetime: "2026-07-30T15:02:59.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/294385669.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294385669.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/294385669.md) --- # AI Strategy May Shift: Report Says Microsoft Considers Supporting "Open-Weight" AI Models Amid Rise of Chinese AI **As Chinese AI models gain increasing popularity among US users, Microsoft is considering releasing some of its self-developed artificial intelligence models as "open-weight" models.** **If implemented, this would mark a significant adjustment in Microsoft's AI strategy. As a US software giant, Microsoft hopes to reduce its reliance on OpenAI.** Microsoft released its fourth-quarter earnings report after the bell on Wednesday, with Azure revenue rising more than 40% and capital expenditures coming in below expectations. As of press time, Microsoft's US shares rose more than 15% during Thursday's trading session, leading the Magnificent Seven. **** Open-weight models refer to AI models whose trained parameters are made public, allowing users to download, modify, and further develop them. In recent years, such models have garnered increasing attention due to their strong performance and relatively lower usage costs. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleiman is currently responsible for the MAI series of AI models developed internally at Microsoft. Previously released MAI models were all proprietary, or "closed-source," models. However, Microsoft had previously developed another series of models called Phi, which included open-weight versions. Last Friday, Microsoft expressed support for open-weight AI in an open letter, a statement that received widespread response from multiple companies in the tech industry. Suleiman stated, "We are very pragmatic. Our core mission is to provide customers with the best performance." ## Microsoft Bets on Self-Developed Models to Reduce Reliance on OpenAI Under Suleiman's leadership, Microsoft is pushing for a more autonomous AI strategy, hoping to reduce its dependence on OpenAI. Microsoft invested in OpenAI in 2019 and has since deepened their cooperation. However, in recent years, the two companies have gradually formed a competitive relationship in certain areas. Suleiman stated that AI models will increasingly resemble "products" because they can "operate in a more flexible and dynamic manner and interact within complex environments," thereby internalizing enterprise logic and workflows that were previously embedded in software. He said Microsoft is "building agent-like software agents," a change that could make competition between Microsoft and AI model suppliers more direct. > **"First-party models (self-developed models) will create autonomy for us in the long term. We cannot rely on third-party vendors. This is unsustainable. We are a company with a market capitalization in the trillions of dollars."** However, Suleiman stated that Microsoft will continue to adhere to a multi-model strategy. If models from OpenAI or Anthropic better suit customer needs, the company will continue to offer them. ## Microsoft Says AI Infrastructure Investment Is Still in Early Stages, Inference Demand to Surge When asked when Microsoft would achieve full autonomy in the AI field, Suleiman stated, "In many ways, we already have." He cited AI models developed by Microsoft in speech transcription, image generation, and cybersecurity as examples. At the same time, Microsoft faces issues with computing resource allocation, needing to coordinate resources between partner customers like OpenAI and its internal MAI team. Suleiman stated that Microsoft's research team currently possesses substantial computing power, with no significant limitations compared to other AI labs. He said the company has plans to build massive computing clusters in the coming years. Regarding market concerns that high AI service costs might weaken future demand, Suleiman disagreed and defended Microsoft's large-scale investment in AI infrastructure. He said: > **"People severely underestimate the fact that we are at the starting point of a major turning point—models will be heavily consumed across all industries and all verticals, and inference demand will grow explosively."** ## Suleiman Calls for Stronger Safety Regulation in the AI Industry On the issue of AI regulation, Suleiman called for the industry to first form a coordinated framework for safety assurance mechanisms before deploying higher-capability models. He expressed support for the initiative proposed by his DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis to establish an industry self-regulation framework in the United States. > "We are approaching a moment where the precautionary principle will be more important than ever, meaning we must first take steps to prove that we can deliver safe models." Suleiman co-founded DeepMind in 2010 and remained with the company after it was acquired by Google. In 2022, he co-founded Inflection AI and joined Microsoft in 2024, taking charge of consumer AI business and proprietary model development. ### Related Stocks - [MSFT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFT.US.md) - [MSFU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFU.US.md) - [MSFD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFD.US.md) - [MSFO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFO.US.md) - [MSFX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFX.US.md) - [MSFL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFL.US.md) - [MSFW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFW.US.md) - [MSFY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSFY.US.md) - [MAGX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MAGX.US.md) - [GOOG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOG.US.md) - [GOOGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOGL.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Microsoft Just Made Cybersecurity AI More Accessible](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294098034.md) - [Former Microsoft President Jeff Raikes Says AI Could Create a 'Talent Debt' by Replacing Entry-Level Work](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293906551.md) - [Microsoft confirms Copilot ‘super app’ coming this year](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294270930.md) - [Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 reaches enterprise users through Fireworks on Microsoft Foundry](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294339417.md) - [Microsoft Expects FY2027 Capex To Grow Year-Over-Year](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294269889.md)